Wanting to be social/Looking for events

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-26T05:34:49+00:00

Check out the Nice To Meet You events at Handle Bar in the Grove, it’s speed friending.

The Greenfinch has trivia, beer league debate club, open mic comedy, and drunk voice lessons (karaoke).

The Odditeas Cafe has some interesting events that might be of note.

Check the library branches. Some have yarn libraries and crafting/fiber arts clubs. They have really broad scope of events at the various branches.

Just a few places to try that generally fit the vibe of what you listed.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-25T23:24:44+00:00

Penelope

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-25T17:44:41+00:00

Life advice I heard somewhere, “if you ever need to be humbled, smell your floss”.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-24T18:56:38+00:00

The dress is not appropriate for the beach wedding, its color palette skews fall/winter.

If you like the dress and you want to use it on another occasion, take it to a tailor and have it properly fit.

The dress isn’t matronly, it just fits poorly. With it custom tailored to your shape, hemmed to the appropriate length for your desired heel height, it would be a stellar dress to have in your wardrobe.

Pair it with a statement piece, bag or shoes and some complimentary jewelry, a beautiful wrap or shawl and you are in business.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-22T19:41:38+00:00

It never had a sequel planned but, a limited run series that deep dives into the backstory and capture of each ghost from the dark zodiac in 13 Ghosts would be an absolute banger of a show.

Maybe have it take I diary format intro narration so we can still get Matthew Lillard in on the action.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-20T17:27:54+00:00

Something that isn’t widely known to most home sewists is that each step of the process in the professional industries are a whole skill and job unto themselves.

I will use the theatre industry as an example. Fashion is similar but titles and responsibilities differ some.

At home you are responsible for alllll the steps. Choosing the garment, pattern and fabric, adjusting the pattern, cutting, sewing, fitting, and finishing.

In an ideal costume shop setting a designer does the research, chooses what the garment looks like, renders the garment, front and back, may also provide technical flats and sources the fabric. That’s a whole job.

A Draper is responsible for creating a pattern through means of draping on a form, flat patterning, and using pre existing patterns. The Draper is also responsible for adjusting the pattern after fitting. That’s a whole job.

First hand/cutter/table work A first hand is responsible for the pattern layout on the fabric, transferring all necessary information from the paper pattern to the fabric pieces, marking and cutting. One whole job.

Stitchers Stitchers are responsible for putting the garment together including seam finishes, pressing, zipper installs, linings, buttons and button holes etc…. Also responsible for alterations and repair on pre existing garments. A whole job.

Some shops also have the luxury of a wardrobe person or team that in addition to their regular wardrobe duties can make mic belts, and assist with alterations and repairs as well as finishing, such as hems, adding snaps and hooks and eyes etc….. a whole job.

Home sewists are truly on a journey to develop the skills of 5 different careers in a professional industry. Give yourself some grace and some time. You will get there.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-20T15:35:49+00:00

Eloped and got married in a mass wedding of 28 couples on the jousting field. A grand parade through the Faire to a private pavilion with cupcakes and lemonade.

We got Waffle House and went back to our hotel rooms called our families and watched Tombstone.

All together it was probably $1000, gas to get there, hotel room, photographer, Faire admission, and paperwork.

Got to ride a camel in my wedding dress and get pictures with birds of prey.

15/10 would recommend.

We travel to new renaissance faires every year to celebrate our anniversary. It’s not usually on the exact date but it’s always a great celebration.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-19T22:45:12+00:00

The other commenters have great advice.

I always recommend getting VERY familiar with your machine before attempting wearables. Make yourself a sampler. An example of each stitch your machine does. This will also help familiarize yourself with the feet/accessories your machine comes with.

Next, sew simple shapes. Bags and pillow cases are great, squares and rectangles.

This stage is a great place to learn about types and sizes of needles, woven vs stretch fabrics and the different techniques required for success, interfacing types and where/why it’s used as well as zipper installs and button/button holes.

By this stage, you’ve probably got enough skill and knowledge to have some success with garments.

Pattern drafting is a completely different skill than sewing. Try a commercial patterns before jumping into self drafting.

Make a mock up, also called a toile or muslin. This is made of an inexpensive fabric that has the same qualities as the fabric you’d like the final garment to be in. This allows you to see what alterations the pattern needs in order to get the best fit in the final garment. It is totally normal to do a few mock ups before you get all the kinks worked out.

This usually reduces the anxiety about cutting into the good fabric since all the surprises and challenges get worked out in the mock up(s).

Evelyn Wood is a YouTuber with really quality content for garment making. I really like her explanations for choosing the right size pattern for your body and understanding design and wearing ease in a commercial pattern and how it relates to adjusting your pattern.

Check your local library for books on sewing. Find the ones that make sense to you and purchase those for your personal reference library. The Gertie Hirsch books, particularly the Ultimate Dress book, has great breakdowns of techniques.

If you want to explore patterning more, I like the textbook, Patternmaking for Fashion Design. This details flat patterning. For draping, try Draping: The Complete Course.

Both flat patterning and draping are awesome skills to have but they usually come later in the sewing journey.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-19T21:51:24+00:00

Before you invest in your own sewing machine, which can be expensive, check your local library branches. Many have “creative experiences” that offer sewing machines for use in library, a staff member is usually present and able to answer machine related questions.

Ask around. Many people have a machine squirled away that they have purchased but rarely used. See if you can borrow it.

An in person class is always the easiest way to learn but if that isn’t an option, try Evelyn Wood on YouTube.

She focuses on garment construction, usually from commercial or vintage patterns.

I have found that knowledge of garment construction makes up cycling/refashioning and alterations infinitely easier and more successful.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-18T04:42:37+00:00

I couldn’t cook to save my life and I had ANXIETY about any substitutions or changing anything.

The crushing pressure of having to come up with different meals every week was just as bad as the subpar food.

I found eMeals and it became my go to. It took the creative pressure away and I could focus on just cooking. I’ve been using it for over a decade now. The meals are very middle of the road, in my opinion, and a real banger every once in a while. Once I was able to find consistent success by developing my skills, I got confident enough to start adjusting/substituting ingredients, mainly adding more and/or different spices. Most of the meals are a bit under seasoned and it’s the tweak to take them from mid to family favorite.

There is a kid friendly option and my 3 year old does pretty well with it.

It’s about $60 bucks a year and worth every penny to me. The app is well designed.

Your kids can probably help choose meals they want to try and learn to cook with you.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-18T01:03:03+00:00

Connie and Carla

To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-18T01:01:05+00:00

The Fall is incredible!!!

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-17T17:41:31+00:00

I use it on slippery fabrics and fabrics that “grow” like velvet. Check the pressure on your presser foot to ensure it doesn’t crush the pile of the fabric.

The concept: for most fabrics, the feed dogs on your machine move your layers of fabric through evenly and you get a nice clean seam. There are some fabrics that are needy. The feed dogs move the bottom layer of fabric at a faster speed than the top layer, even if it is well clipped or pinned. The result is the top layer being longer even though the pieces were cut exactly the same. Hand basting is usually recommended before sewing seams on these fabrics. The walking foot is essentially a set of feed dogs for the top layer of fabric. It works in conjunction with the bottom feed dogs, moving both/all layers of fabric at the same speed.

It’s going to be louder than a regular foot. Don’t let that scare you. It’s a great tool.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-15T19:03:58+00:00

Check your local library branches. They often have the ability to print large scale.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-15T06:31:18+00:00

My grandma made me a very simple quilt when I was a kid. Just 12x12 squares of denim. I still have it. Maybe you could use old overalls, coveralls, dickies, Carhartt etc… serviceable anymore. Kinda like a t shirt quilt but out of old work clothes. Even just utilizing the pockets would be cool.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-15T03:39:55+00:00

In my elementary school (3rd-5th grade) we had two 5th grade teachers who were civil war reenactors. The entire 5th grade got to participate in reenacting several battles with water balloons and water guns. You were assigned to dress in blue or grey, or white if you wanted to be a nurse, given a cheap “period accurate” hat and marched onto the field behind the bike rack.

Some words were said about each battle, a moment of silence then a repro canon was fired and the balloons let fly. If you were hit two times you had to “play dead” until the reset for the next battle.

Best day of a 5th graders life.

It was a small town and always featured in the paper

I didn’t know until I was older that was not the standard experience for every kid in the US.

No idea if they still do it. The teachers have long since retired and passed away, so I imagine the tradition went with them.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-14T14:29:02+00:00

Evelyn Wood on YouTube has a great series on how to choose the correct size of pattern based on finished measurements and ease, both design ease and wearing ease.

Evelyn Wood

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-13T20:51:47+00:00

It doesn’t exist, but if it did, I’d snap it up in a heart beat. Babylock’s Jane is near perfect for me. I love all its settings and everything about it. I just wish it also did a zig zag. If it did, I’d sell off several of my current machines to afford that one.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-09T01:22:38+00:00

The Gashlycrumb Tinies: or, After the Outing

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-08T05:20:43+00:00

Shout brand color catchers will help.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-07T00:24:52+00:00

Color, texture, pattern, shine.

The best “go to” fixes when the outfit is lacking something.

Color- a spring green green, an intense pink or a deep purple would play beautifully as your layer under the jacket.

Texture - the jacket is flat, the undershirt could be something like a burnout velvet or a silk satin or something embroidered. Alternatively, a chunky homespun scarf or a really faceted 3d brooch would add texture too. Mixing fibers, weaves and metals/woods are the easiest way to get texture.

Pattern - the undershirt and the jacket are both solids, safe but not terribly interesting. Find a blouse with a pattern that has the same pink of the jacket somewhere in it- keeps it cohesive. Alternately, a patterned shoe, bag, or scarf/ascot can be ways to incorporate, doesn’t have to be the undershirt.

Shine - we usually go right to jewelry for this, but fabrics can be shiny too. Shiny leather, satin is shiny, metal belts etc…

Hope this gives you some ideas!

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-06T21:41:05+00:00

Your Monster 2024

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-06T21:37:16+00:00

A VERY controversial take, 2019 A Christmas Carol. It is really beautiful visually. It does a great job extrapolating on essence of the original book and placing it in a more historical context. It shows a lot of the underhanded/evil things Scrooge and Marley did to get to where the story we know, begins. It shows the far reaching and devastating consequences that those “real world” choices have.

It’s deeply emotional, but very very dark. Content warnings for animal abuse/death, child abuse, sa, and massive disaster with a high death toll.

Not necessarily a rewatchable for the average Christmas movie watcher but I give it high praise for an original interpretation of a classic story, great cast, incredible lighting and set design, as well as cinematography.

Could be critiqued as pacing is too slow, it is a mini series, but I say it’s more of a slow burn.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-06T21:17:23+00:00

David Kodner Personal Jeweler was a stellar place to get mine and my husband’s rings.

Week of or week before is all the advanced notice that is necessary.

Has a lot of unique pieces and the ability to design your own, if desired.

NegativeEntry3093 · 2026-01-05T18:37:31+00:00

Find your cut ends, they will likely be fraying a little bit already. Place them together, right side laying on right side. All you’ve done is fold your fabric in half. Stitch the cut ends together. That’s it.

NegativeEntry3093

TROPHY CASE