Weekend Retort. Sorta.

[ickaimp]

So the Healthy Family lady is here and helping us make a toy for Xan involving a water bottle and various things that float and sink in it. But we had to think of things to put into it.

Enter... Crazy Auntie Icka!'s Bag O' Holding™

From the bag:
1 plastic water bottle
8 clear plastic beads
1 fake turquoise bead
13 fake jewels
1 mini rubber pirate devil ducky
1 broken lanyard
1 luggage lock (minus key)
1 hopper popper painted like a yellow baseball.

-the last three didn't go in. Surprisingly, 3 of the beads float, the rest --including the rubber ducky-- do not. *pokes bottle* The grown-ups are confuzzled. Waiting for Xan to wake up from his nap to see what he thinks of it.

Anyway. We were going to do a Murder Mystery this weekend, but everyone was feeling very blah, so we called it a dead weekend and didn't do much. I curled up and got some writing done. Two longfics down to the final scenes! \o/ Yay for clearing backlog!
Did stop by Savers and got a new skirt for free because of the fist-size hole in one seam. A few minutes mending and it's as good as new.
... Am continuously amazed at how few people seem to know how to mend or sew these days. Out of curiosity, Scadians and Tiffany aside, how many people can sew? How many can't? (I can hand sew, but blow up sewing machines. boom, thread and bobbins everywhere. s'not pretty.)

Ficcage: DC/MK - Marry, Shag, Throw off a Cliff

Comments

[saitaina]

Not on f-list but I can sew to mend things, haven't yet gotten into the big stuff.

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

I need to start switching people over from impfics to this account. ^^;; It was kinda handy, having writers on Impfics and people we know RL here.

Haven't gotten around to sewing any full-sized garments by hand, but I love patching seams up. They're easy!

[saitaina]

Seams are major love for the ease, that was the first thing I learned when I was five and kept playing football in my Sunday dresses.

I find it rather funny I'm still learning and my next major project is a Telma outfit for next year's Kumori-Con. Luckily, my mother knows how to sew and quilt.

[candy--chan.livejournal.com]

*raises hand* I can sew, but only simple stuff--mending, repairing seams, etc. Nothing fancy. In middle school, we took a sewing class where our final project was to make a pair of boxers, which we then proudly wore over our pants for the rest of the day. But I actually do a fair amount of sewing when piecing together a knitting project :D

...I want the pirate devil duckie! :D

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

Hmm... Have an extra pirate devil ducky floating around. They're little pencil toppers. ^^;;

Sewing class in middle school was making a pillow. Mine looked like a cherry soda, would have much rather have done something practical like boxers instead.

[sapphirus.livejournal.com]

What's a popper? And how old is Xan again? :O

I can mend when I'm not lazy (I think...) and sewing w/ an actual machine isn't too bad. I could get better at it with more practice, surely.

*icon love!*

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

Hopper Poppers (http://www.funbagz.com/images/norm_pics/hopper%20poppers.jpg). And Xan's almost a year old, he's not old enough to play with it as a popper.

Yeah, the more I sew, the better I get with it. ^^;;

[snotblossom.livejournal.com]

I've been doing a lot of handsewing lately. I have two cabinet sewing machines with knee switches and a Babylock, yet I sit on the couch in front of the tv with a needle thread most of the time. Of course what I've made the most of lately is garb for Waffle and Lolly (the Build-A-Bear frog and bear respectively I drag around and take pictures of)and my excuse is that stuff is small and fiddly and just easier to do by hand.

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

I think it really is easier to sew smaller stuff by hand, larger stuff it makes sense to use the machine.

Love watching TV and sewing at the same time, it makes both pass by faster. ^____^

[ytak.livejournal.com]

*jumps up and down waving arms* I know how to sew! These days, I don't do it too often outside of making cosplay but I have made a number of shirts and a blanket.

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

I've done blankets, but never done shirts. XD

Hmm. Seems like a lot of people on f-list do sewing for cosplay.

[ytak.livejournal.com]

I just followed a pattern. I've made pretty close to a dozen shirts (I hate collars!).

But it is still sewing. I'm doing trippy things with cosplay that teach me better sewing techniques overall. I'm going to make myself a pair of shorts after I've rested up from making my cosplay (and found my pattern, it seems to have grown legs and walked off). I don't like the ladies shorts they have out there. They show off more of my muscular thighs than I like (not to forget that my legs stick to everything).

[wren-chan.livejournal.com]

I can sew a bit--quite well enough to do up something like that. I keep meaning to learn to use a sewing machine. And I knit all my own scarfs!

[candy--chan.livejournal.com]

FELLOW KNITTER! *high-fives*

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

*giggles at the fibre art freaks* ^_________________^

[catjim.livejournal.com]

From the bag:
1 plastic water bottle
8 clear plastic beads
1 fake turquoise bead
13 fake jewels
1 mini rubber pirate devil ducky
1 broken lanyard
1 luggage lock (minus key)
1 hopper popper painted like a yellow baseball.

Icka is a kender! I knew it!

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Ya caught me. #^^#

... I used to play a kender in D&D too, back when I played. ^^;;

[kahlii.livejournal.com]

I can do a bit of hand sewing. Made hand sewn stuffed animals for my grandparents for Christmas. Also do machine sewing to make cosplay stuff (as can be seen on the top of my lj). Not too sure how good I would be at mending, though. >.>

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

I can occasionally be coaxed into making rag dolls (I have a Kaitou Kid one that I travel with), but if you can hand sew, you should be able to mend, it's not that big of a difference.

Despite the fact that I'm in the SCA, I still can't make clothing. I can cut, pin and do hems and such, but to make the full thing? Nah-uh. The few cosplay costumes I've done have been handsewing as well, but it's been because of the fabric or style of the costume. (Larva from Vampire Miyu and Naraku from Inuyasha, which was massive amounts of shag fur)

[dagronrat.livejournal.com]

I figured out how to sew a button and have been sewing seams back together recently, but I'm really not confident that I get the seams right.

... I've used a sewing machine to make sketch books?

*I have no excuse for not knowing much though, my mum is really into quilting!*

................ Bottle with mysterious things in it! \o/ Win!

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

For seams, I find a back stitch with a whip stitch on top of it holds really really well. Has yet to break on me. ^^;; It's the end knots that I'm not entirely confident with. Been experimenting with a surgeons knot lately and it seems to hold pretty well.

To make sketch books?! I remember you mentioning that before, how well did it work?

[dagronrat.livejournal.com]

*Notes down stitch names to look up next time the seams start pulling away. 8D*

Yep. And it worked okay from what I remember. Got a good mark on the one I made for the "Arts Plastiques" class and the illustrated book I made for the photoshop class was okay, if a bit curved/eaten by the stitches. Then again, I didn't try to make really fat sketch books. It's keeping the pages flush that's hardest though. ^_^;

And am currently a wee bit envious of wee New Zealanders who learn to cook and sew and do woodwork. In my French school it was barely as if they had a pottery class, though we did learn to solder circuit boards. \o/

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

wikihow (http://www.wikihow.com/Mend-a-Torn-Seam) to the rescue!

-I do a backstitch instead of a running stitch because it's slightly stronger, and I can almost do a backstitch almost as fast as I do a running stitch.

Glad the books came out okay! Was thinking that they were bigger for what ever reason. ^^;;

[purplevks.livejournal.com]

I can sew! Both hand and machine, as long as someone sets the machine up. Mostly I make pillow and sew stuff back together, like teddy bears.

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

*squees!* Teddy bears! That's great!

[purplevks.livejournal.com]

Well, sometimes the legs come off. I'm not good for many practical things, but that one of them. Unless you count being able to figure out what will creep someone out and then doing it as practical.

[marsdejahthoris.livejournal.com]

I can hand-sew well enough, if I don't get impatient. It's been years since I used a sewing machine, but I probably can still do it.

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

Patience does seem to play a part in it. That and straight lines, I still have some trouble with keeping long seams straight.

[lady-cinnibar.livejournal.com]

I can sew. Mostly by hand, although I'm learning how to use a machine. I can also knit (poorly), and embroider (not so poorly). I can even darn socks, which has everyone baffled. Since no one taught me how, but I figured it out anyway.

Although it was a matter of learning in self defense. There was a uniform in high school, and there was an evil bench in the locker room that somehow tore my hem out on a regular basis. I got tired of pinning it and poking myself, super glue washes out after a few runs in the washer, and so does tape. I sewed it. Sometimes as often as three times a week. I'm very good at hems. Strangely enough, it only tore out the stitching, never the fabric. And yes, I stitched sturdy enough. By senior year, I was using heavy duty thread for upholstery, and knotting at every stitch, and it still got ripped out by that one evil little bench. I wasn't it's only victim either.

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

You're ahead of me, I can't knit or embroider, but it's mostly out of a lack of interest. ^^;; The only thing I'd want to knit is a really really long scarf.

*laughs* Curse that bench!

Learning to sew was also out of self-defence, I'm hard on my clothing and it doesn't hurt to be able to fix it instead of having to get new. There's a couple of patchwork skirts that I think of as 'pet projects', because the seams are always going, so I just patch them up while wandering around watching Xan.

Now I'm finding it's something I can barter with, patching up stuff and replacing buttons for people who can't handsew.

[(Anonymous)]

Hah! It was a murder mystery; the weekend was dead, so obviously it was murdered. Unless the weekend killed itself and disguised it as a murder?

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

That is a terrible pun and you should be highly proud ashamed of yourself. ^____^

[paperspades.livejournal.com]

Lurker here, to answer your question and to let you know that I too can sew. Of course I've only ever used machines that were older that I am, which makes things a bit difficult. They always start smoking before I remember to oil the gears. *sigh*

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

Greetings! Nice ta meetcha!

For me, it's the bobbins. Doesn't matter how old or new the machine is, if someone else was just using it, if someone else did the bobbin, I will put my foot on that pedal and the bobbin will explode every damn time.

[mariechar.livejournal.com]

Beads? beads??? *walks to corner, squats and tries to muffle pervy laughter*

sorry... anyone know the best way to quit coffee?

[ickaimp.livejournal.com]

Hey, they were betting tokens from back when we were doing the Baronial Archery Tournament.

Um... switch to tea?

[(Anonymous)]

heh. Sounds like my stuff bag. Permanent contents: bandaids, tin of Burt's Bees healing cream, bottle of Japanese Cherry Blossom lotion, about 8 or 9 pads, 3 tiny pens, and a flashlight. Random contents: notebook containing my want list, cell phone, yaoi manga, cds, necklace, jewelry supplies, fantasy or science fiction novel, chocolate, and a half-frozen water bottle.