I took the rest of the week OFF, originally to burn up some vacation time if I quit but now because I need a break from the promotion I got instead of quitting. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Anyway, it’s not going to be all sewing–Toby has to get more bloodwork today, I have to stain the deck and do outside things, etc.–but I’m going to enjoy not working (or posting). Just like Toby does every day:
The Canadian third of our friend trio hasn’t been able to visit for the entirety of the pandemic. Last year when we all got our first vaccine, my US friend and I started making plans for her to drive down and all the hot spring trips we’d take. Her visit didn’t work out–but I had already bought fabric to make them robes to wear to the “onsen.”
This year is finally the year she is coming to visit, so I got going on their robes. The fabrics are batik from Itokri and they’re nice and soft but wow did that indigo bleed. The pattern is the (out of print) Dressing Robe from Helen’s Closet and it was a simple sew.
I’d also been hoarding these for a year, which I know they’ll appreciate: 
We will be the toast of many Idaho hot springs!
I’m heading up to Lava Hot Springs for a quick trip this coming weekend, which means I’m thinking about all the things I could sew at the last minute…like a cloud print one-piece swimsuit? I haven’t worn a one-piece in decades because my torso is so long they never fit, but that’s the point of making your own, after all.
I’ve had my eye on the Seabright Swimmer and this cloud print Lycra has been in my stash for a few years:
I don’t think I have enough of the clouds to do the long sleeve version, but even the sleeveless would get me some extra sun protection on the back. (I do have enough LIBERTY SWIM FABRIC in the stash to make the long sleeve version but it would be foolish to use that on a first attempt at a pattern….right?)
Stay tuned, because I really don’t need another suit (I made two last year, plus a rash guard) but there’s something about vacation sewing that’s just really fun.
1. Speaking of Richard Scarry:
2. Stop motion Godzilla animation will make you feel all the feels:
I made a short film about coming out. Happy Pride. Protect Trans kids. pic.twitter.com/5y6xjM8wm0
— Cressa Maeve Beer (@beeragon) June 26, 2020
3. Related, anti-trans bigots often pretend to be philosophers and ask, “Then what IS a woman if you’re not going by biology?” and this is is a fantastically off the wall response to that. (“Lawnmowers are also women.”)
…and start normalizing whatever’s happening in out-of-context illustrations from Richard Scarry books (found on the “Richard Scarry Love” Instagram).
Anne Helen Petersen linked this in her newsletter a couple of weeks ago and now I have words for what I feel when I see initials in trees when we’re out hiking.
Letter to the Person Who Carved His Initials into the Oldest Living Longleaf Pine in North America
by Matthew Olzmann
—Southern Pines, NC
Tell me what it’s like to live without
curiosity, without awe. To sail
on clear water, rolling your eyes
at the kelp reefs swaying
beneath you, ignoring the flicker
of mermaid scales in the mist,
looking at the world and feeling
only boredom. To stand
on the precipice of some wild valley,
the eagles circling, a herd of caribou
booming below, and to yawn
with indifference. To discover
something primordial and holy.
To have the smell of the earth
welcome you to everywhere.
To take it all in, and then,
to reach for your knife.
I only have car trips planned for the year, no flights to exotic destinations, but here I am making things I could take with me to Hawaii or Palm Springs.
I wanted to keep using up those scraps of upholstery fabric. I also wanted to re-create the fun of working with a new material and following a good pattern, like the toiletry bag last week. Well, I worked with a new material (cork!) but I didn’t love the pattern (the Flip Clutch Wallet by Spencer Ogg).
I think part of the difficulty was that the pattern is designed for fabrics that will hold a press, and cork and outdoor fabric just won’t. I think the other issue is just the drafting–the credit card pockets and lining were the exact same size as the outer, and I know better by now and should have trimmed them down by an eighth of an inch.
I need to add a wrist strap but I do think this will be a useful clutch/wallet for going out to dinner or replacing a purse when you want to travel light. The pockets are wonderful–a slip in one for your phone and a zippered one for anything you need to secure.
Writing this up, I realize it’s my first really involved bag project in years, with magnetic snaps and continuous coil zippers and cork to boot. I SUPPOSE there’s a possibility that my struggles weren’t entirely the fault of the pattern….
I try to get to the windows bi-annually but I honestly can’t remember when we did it last. (The scariest thing is I don’t know if that’s the haze of the last 2.5 years or if it’s actually been that long.) But we washed them yesterday and it felt like the restoration of the Sistine Chapel: so bright! so light!
So for this week, think about washing those windows. I highly recommend this tool plus a telescoping pole; if you want to get fancy, you can even get the rectangular bucket. 
Next up: tackling the blinds. I might call in a pro for that, though…
1. I know it’s satire, but I kind of love “7 Weightlifting Poems That Will Get You Pumped,” if only for the writer’s supreme dedication to the gag. I’m sorry, “Gym Song For Carl Sagan” deserves wider recognition:
Carl Sagan, I am at the Gym.
It has been years since your passing, and I am
Curling weights with magnificent ease.
I’m stronger than I’ve ever been
And the guy at the front desk knows me.
2. This is the truest thing I’ve seen in my life: 
3. This is a 90s site of 60s lounge music and it’s awesome (via my friend Mike).
4. Don’t be like Brian: 
This is a TikTok found on Instagram but it really sums up how I feel about giving unhoused people money when asked:
View this post on Instagram
“You’re acting like you care about this person but it sounds like you really just want control.”