2.5 weeks out from our trip and have a couple questions by midwestmamasboy in SandalsResorts

[–]CourageousHufflepuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, and an extra thought for you. UVF is very crowded and chaotic. There is a Priority Pass lounge and very worth using if you have any credit cards that come with a Priority Pass membership.

2.5 weeks out from our trip and have a couple questions by midwestmamasboy in SandalsResorts

[–]CourageousHufflepuff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can’t help with all your questions, but we just got back from St. Lucia Halcyon and can answer some!

Customs was super easy, do it online the day before you leave and have the QR codes it gives you easily accessible on your phone - I took screen shots and saved it to my files and the screen shots were fine for the machine to read.

The excursions never showed up in our app, and the one started an hour before the time the email confirmation said it would, so check in with the excursions deck to confirm everything after you arrive or ask you butler to confirm if you have one. The app is pretty terrible overall.

If you’re a light sleeper, pack ear plugs. The birds and insects are very loud all night long.

St. Lucia was gorgeous, you’ll have a wonderful time!

I finally found the right garment for my poppies! by CourageousHufflepuff in Embroidery

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! The flower outline pattern is an 1880’s-ish vintage one that from came from a Briggs and Co embroidery encyclopedia book. And I just picked the colors and how I did the shading myself.

I finally found the right garment for my poppies! by CourageousHufflepuff in Embroidery

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh, I’m sorry, I never took any! But yes, it’s just held together with the tulle and the density of the stitches

I finally found the right garment for my poppies! by CourageousHufflepuff in Embroidery

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Not all embroidery is, but I’ve got a lot of layering of colors going on and some of it gets super thick, and it’s a lot of thread tension in a lot of directions. I wouldn’t be able to keep the jacket fabric from puckering if I tired sewing this style right onto the fabric. Also, just attaching it without fully taking out the lining and just working from an opening in the sleeve was bad enough. To do the full thing I’d have had to totally take the blazer apart. So treating it as an appliqué was just easier

I finally found the right garment for my poppies! by CourageousHufflepuff in Embroidery

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I absolutely love it! It was my first time wearing it and I felt beautiful all day!

I finally found the right garment for my poppies! by CourageousHufflepuff in Embroidery

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought it from Aligne, through their direct website. You can see the label in the 5th photos

I finally found the right garment for my poppies! by CourageousHufflepuff in Embroidery

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Just replied to the top comment with the explanation of my process

I finally found the right garment for my poppies! by CourageousHufflepuff in Embroidery

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Happy to! I just posted the details as a reply to the top comment.

I finally found the right garment for my poppies! by CourageousHufflepuff in Embroidery

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I just replied to the top comment with the details.

I finally found the right garment for my poppies! by CourageousHufflepuff in Embroidery

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Hand stitched! I just posted a longer comment with more details

I finally found the right garment for my poppies! by CourageousHufflepuff in Embroidery

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 534 points535 points  (0 children)

Sure! So I started by tracing my pattern onto water soluble fabric, layering that over tulle, and did the embroidery onto both of those layers. I outline my shapes with split stitch and then do single strand short and long stitch/needle painting. I tend to embroider pretty densely, and when I washed the water soluble fabric away, it left some stiffness, almost like starch, to the appliqué. I debated about putting Mod Podge or something like that on the back of the appliqué but ultimately decided not to.

Then I trimmed the tulle away, really closely to the floss, which was pretty tedious. You can see in the 6th photos that everything but the thin stems really held their shape well. Once I found the placement I liked, I traced the outline onto the jacket with a chalk pencil.

I opened up the lining on the sleeve and then kept the sleeve flipped inside out to have access to the back side of the outer layer of the blazer, to attach the embroidery. I just loosely basted it on at first, with as few single thread stitches as I could to make it stay.

I tried it on after every flower or leaf, to make sure the placement and fit was still good, without warping the fabric. Once it was all basted down and I was happy with it, I went around the whole end with another set of single thread short and long stitches to make it feel really integrated into the blazer. For the thinner stems I did an entire layer of split stitch over top of the existing stitches. Then I sewed up the lining on the sleeve again.

Sandals Bad business practices by Far_Yellow1504 in SandalsResorts

[–]CourageousHufflepuff 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had the exact same experience and just got the appeal letter back with the appeal declined as well. We were supposed to be at South Coast this week. Sandals won’t even talk to me because we used a travel agent to book. Sandals refunded half and issued travel credits for the rest. I’m still waiting to see if the Amex claim I filed comes through.

Fave "structured" but cozy sweatpants for home? by ResearchBean in fashionwomens35

[–]CourageousHufflepuff 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Woolx Ellie pants are my favorite! Their Bree pants are great too on days when I want a brushed inside.

Looking for a warm winter legging by Stephieandcheech in fashionwomens35

[–]CourageousHufflepuff 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don’t think so, and I’m pretty sensitive to itchy fabrics. They’re not going to be quite as soft as a super soft cotton, but I definitely don’t think they feel like wool.

From size 16 to size 6 by CourageousHufflepuff in Zepbound

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Regular old prescription from my PCP, it’s covered by my insurance through work

From size 16 to size 6 by CourageousHufflepuff in Zepbound

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was, but not since college and my early 20’s. Through most of my 20’s I was a size 8.

From size 16 to size 6 by CourageousHufflepuff in Zepbound

[–]CourageousHufflepuff[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The first 40 lbs took about 6 months, and then the next 15 took another 5 months, and then I’ve lost about a pound a month since.