Mini-Project: Bag for Ross

In between major projects I decided to sew a bag for Ross. I used a combination of online tutorials and a bag that I got in a swap to figure out how to make a reversible bag. It didn't take me very long at all to make. I only made one mistake--I cut one piece too small. Luckily, I had enough material to cut another piece.

After I was done I typed up instructions for myself, that way I will know exactly how to do it next time. I think I'll whip up one of these for my next swap partner.

Pink Silk Upcycle

 Over Memorial Day weekend when I was shopping with my mom at Saver's I decided to buy some very large shirts and try to use the material to make something different. I paid less than 4 dollars for this hot pink silk shirt:

I cut it up into pieces and tried to find a pattern that I could fit onto the material. I hadn't thought about how the large armholes would affect trying to make a new shirt. After three tries I found a pattern that fit:

View C was the only one that I had enough material for. I had to buy some hot pink thread. I bought quite a few zippers. I practiced sewing a zipper on some muslin, then I decided I wanted an invisible zipper. The zipper wasn't nearly as hard to sew in as I thought it would be, but I made a bunch of mistakes because I'm not good at 3D visualization and the instructions I had were opposite of my garment--top was bottom. It got confusing. After lots of procrastinating because I hate hand sewing, I finished the top.

Here is the new, upcycled shirt. I made it to fit while wearing my corset. I like how it turned out, and I'm glad to be done with it.

I have a couple of other shirts I bought to upcycle, but I'm not sure what to do with them. I think one of them will make cute little pj shorts.

Next up will be a shirt for Ross.

Celebrity Visit: Dwayne Johnson

I didn't get much sleep last night, but in the little bit that I managed, Dwayne Johnson AKA The Rock AKA The Most Charming Smile on Earth visited me. I was teaching a math/finance class and handing out practice problems. Dwayne came down to the front of the classroom to get the practice problems from me. He was in some sort of gladiator get up. We had a brief conversation. That smile just melts me.

Netflix Bingeing: Les Témoins

So I burned through the six episodes of Les Témoins in about two and a half days. The show did temporarily feed my need for dark crime drama. For some reason I had a little trouble transition from Danish to French. I got over that pretty quickly and got sucked into the story. All six episodes follow the same case, unlike so many other series I have watched.

The main detective, Sandra, is quite observant and excellent at her job. Like most of the detectives in the gritty crime shows I watch, she's a bit of a loner with problems at home. Paul, another detective, knows what's going on in the case, but doesn't want to share. Sandra figures it out anyway.

This story involves a couple of serial killers, blackmail, revenge, people digging up dead bodies, detective work, and a wolf. I don't know if they will make another series. This one wrapped up well at the end. I sorta hope they don't make another one.

Oh, and I really like the theme song We Don't Die, by Tricky.

Netflix Bingeing: Dicte

I was recently lamenting that I don't have a good, gritty crime show in my queue. On a whim I started watching the Danish show Dicte. My knitting project is mindless enough that I can even watch foreign shows.

I watched the entire first season (which is all Netflix has) this week. I really like it. It isn't the kind of twisted crime series I love, but I really got into it (and the knitting slowed.) Dicte is a reporter with a complicated past and a penchant for getting in the middle of police investigations. The stories are interesting--even if all of them far-fetchedly revolve around Dicte. The acting is good too. I'm hoping Netflix puts up season 2 soon.

I miss Wallander. I'm still jonesing for some sick crime. Watching this series made me think about writing a crime novel. But, I don't know anything about crime, or police, or writing novels.