Happy Birthday, Skyler

By in birthdays

My nephew is TEN today!

He is such a delight to know–sensitive, determined, curious, and so, so smart. (Seriously, smarter than the adults sometimes.) He loves model trains and chess and Legos and he and I have all sorts of fun with feats of strength on the playground.

I can’t imagine our family without him. I know my mom was so thrilled to to finally be a grandma; my dad has spent the last ten years thinking of ways to be literally the best grandpa ever. Skyler has made my brother and sister-in-law have become parents, with the patience and perseverance and love that that entails.  And me? I get to be his auntie, with the video games and the attitude of, “Sure, why not get in the stream?” which is pretty much the best.

Every time we hang out, I learn something new and every time I look at him, seeing the baby mixed in with the pre-teen now (!),  I’m struck all over again by how amazing it is that he exists.

Happy birthday, Bubbs. I love you so much!

“Languishing”

By in feelings

This New York Times article has been circulating a lot in the last couple weeks, I think because so many people read it and think, “Yes! That’s exactly how I’m feeling.”

It wasn’t burnout — we still had energy. It wasn’t depression — we didn’t feel hopeless. We just felt somewhat joyless and aimless. It turns out there’s a name for that: languishing.

As the article itself says:

We still have a lot to learn about what causes languishing and how to cure it, but naming it might be a first step. It could help to defog our vision, giving us a clearer window into what had been a blurry experience. It could remind us that we aren’t alone: languishing is common and shared.

I would add that it’s common and shared especially now, 14 months into the pandemic, where we’re all thinking, “Now what?”. Do we just go back to normal, when normal failed so many people? Are we going to acknowledge the losses and the challenges of the last year collectively? Or even, say, in the workplace? (If mine is any example, the answer is no.)

I don’t know what the future will look like, but I hope we’ll continue to at least try to publically talk about the mental and emotional toll of the last year. Articles like these are a good start.

Tuesday Project Roundup: Splashing My Own Underwear All Over The Internet

By in sewing, Tuesday Project Roundup

I was pretty fed up with everything last week, including all my homemade bras. Even though they weren’t wired, even though I’d been happy with the comfort level all pandemic, suddenly having a back closure and elastic  edges and straps was Just. Too. Irritating.

So I made a couple sets of even more relaxed bras and undies over the weekend, with no exposed elastic. Hell, they might even be pushing the definition of “bra” and moving more into “undershirt,” but I’m not mad about that.

First up is a Greenstyle Embrace Bra and matching Stitch Upon a Time Bunzies in some citrus print:

You’ll recognize that checkerboard knit in the background from last week–I bought three yards so I used a little to make a Sophie Hines Axis Tank and more Bunzies, inspired by the checkered ones from Arq.

Long term readers will remember that the Bunzies were my first venture into making undies a few years ago; it’s nice to return to them and all their full coverage glory. This time I tweaked the leg bands to be half as wide and treated them like binding (to mimic Arq’s “signature bound edge construction” lol) and used my cover stitch on everything.

Yesterday was busier at work but I felt much happier about everything, since I was wearing my giant soft bra and undies. Nothing like a quick project that offers real rewards.

Friday Links

By in Friday Unrelated Information

1. I just spent an afternoon last week dusting and fertilizing and leaf shining all the houseplants, so now I’m in a houseplant mood. This site has charming illustrations and lots of info about taking care of your plant friends. (Via Laura Olin’s newsletter)

 

2. Virginia Sole-Smith writes about surviving the pandemic in a body that may or may not have gained weight and just being grateful:

“Some days just getting out of bed and taking a shower is resilient. Logging onto a Zoom meeting is resilient. And in a world that’s constantly telling us we aren’t good enough, nice enough or thin enough, just giving yourself permission to be your imperfect self takes a ton of resilience. In other words, you deserve a giant prize just for existing right now.

Everyone still standing right now has survived a life-changing amount of collective trauma. We are all different than we were 13 months ago; we will never again be our pre-pandemic selves. And so it makes sense that our bodies are different too.”

 

3. This makes me laugh every time:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Pablo Rochat (@pablo.rochat)

Accountability, Not Justice

By in Uncategorized

The fact that I was happily surprised by the verdict in the Chauvin trial says a lot. The bar is literally on the floor; I’m glad we cleared it this time.

These are 2021 stats, from Mapping Police Violence:

Like AOC says, it’s time for policy change. You can read more about concrete solutions that do work in this thread (from the creator of Mapping Police Violence).

Time to get in touch with my city council members.

On Trend: Checkerboard

By in fashun, sewing

I’ve been seeing checks everywhere in RTW lately. It’s not a brand-new trend (the buyer for Stonemountain Fabric called it at the end of 2018) but we all know 2020 didn’t count–and it’s finally worked its way into fabric.

Want to copy these pants from Wray but want to make them even more comfortable (and not $225)?

Get some cotton knit from Girl Charlee and make some Emerson Pants:

Like the look of this fancy Arq bra but know you’re not young enough to wear it out as a shirt with your high-waisted jeans?

Make an Axis Tank (lengthened) with this knit from Fabric Mart:

And finally, this is a gingham, not a true checkerboard, but lime green is also everywhere in fashion lately:

It’s from Fabric Mart again and it’s a beautiful quality linen–much nicer than the gauze used here

Make any of the dress patterns at McCalls right now, add some ruffles, and wear not just one but TWO trends. (Just call me Home Ec Anna Wintour.)

It’s Monday

By in Toby

Steal someone’s fleece jacket, put your paw over your face, and go back to bed if you can:

 

< 1 2 3 4 5 >»