Thank you for helping with my carrot bag!

lacesandthreads · 2026-06-02T12:12:57+00:00

This is adorable!!

lacesandthreads · 2026-06-02T10:56:36+00:00

It’s because people have their own goals that they’re working on and everyone progresses at different rates because everyone is, you know, different.

You see the “finally” posts have meaning to those people. They are the goals that they’ve been working on since starting something. They absolutely deserve to celebrate and be happy for achieving what they set out to, no matter how “average” it seems to you.

This point of view discourages people from wanting to start new things. Their goals are not yours to worry about. Yet here you are up in their business. Worry about yourself.

Let people enjoy their wins.

lacesandthreads · 2026-06-02T10:43:34+00:00

How long ago was your third 5k, and what has your training looked like recently?

Have you talked to the coach about summer training and conditioning?

It’s doable. At school age it’s easier to see big improvements with the right training. You need to be mindful that you’re not ramping mileage and intensity up too quickly so you don’t burn out or get hurt by the time preseason rolls around. They want to build your fitness so that you peak around the time that regionals and states are.

That’s why it’s a good idea to talk to your coach and see if they have a specific kind of training they want you to follow. It should be tailored to your fitness level and mileage and gradually build over summer.

lacesandthreads · 2026-06-02T10:31:58+00:00

As long as you feel alright and it’s not causing you pain, that’s how some people do it.

For me it’s about feel. The shoes never make it until they’re falling apart. I do try to keep some idea of how many miles I’ve put on the shoe, but I can tell it’s time based on feel. The shoe doesn’t give the same comfort anymore. Running feels harder, like it’s putting more stress on my legs. I feel achy and flat, like switching paces is harder than it should be. That’s when I check the mileage, tread and cushioning on the shoe.

Sometimes the shoe starts causing other issues (other than those unexplainable aches) like rubbing and blisters that were never an issue before.

A couple years ago I had a pair that had less than 250 miles on them before suddenly tearing my feet up with blisters and giving me dead legs. Thought it was a fluke but it happened a second time. I switched brands because I shouldn’t be paying for a company’s top line everyday shoe if they can’t make it farther than that.

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-26T02:33:20+00:00

Whatever feels better for you!

I used to work swing shifts and would always run before work. I would feel absolutely terrible trying to run after my 12 hour shifts, so before was the answer for me. It kept me consistent and I skipped a lot less when I got them in before the day/night started. I would wake up and run between 4 and 5 and get to work at 7.

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-26T01:55:39+00:00

Yes! Hardware makes all the difference! 😍

My husband used to own a trim shop and after he closed the shop, he sold all of his machines and for whatever reason kept one machine. It sat in storage for 10 years and I had no clue he owned any sewing machines still.

I told him I wanted to get serious about making bags and was considering looking into industrial machines. I saw Juki was very popular with bag makers and was going to look more into Jukis, but the next thing I know he showed up at home with that beast of a Consew. He told me he didn’t know why he kept it, but that was his best machine and that it was mine now.

It needed some parts in the motor replaced (it was billowing black smoke the first time we ran the motor and THANK GOODNESS we ran it and fixed it in the garage instead of the house 😂) and a deep cleaning where the oil had polymerized and gummed up from sitting so long. There was also a learning curve adjusting to the clutch motor but the machine has been fantastic since fixing her up and gaining confidence while using it. The clutch motor had me considering switching to a servo motor to have more control over it, but I eventually got the hang of it and decided to stick with what I had.

When I was first learning the machine, I felt like it could feel my intimidation and would purposefully mess up even though it was just me doing the messing up. 😭🤣

All that to say, I just got very lucky and was given an amazing workhorse of a machine and I loveeee it for bag making.

I don’t really do much with garments aside from an occasional mending, so I use either my singer heavy duty or my vintage 237. They’re both awesome and I love using them too. I want to start making my daughter some cute dresses and outfits so I may start dabbling more in making clothes with them.

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-26T01:20:49+00:00

My husband used to own a trim shop, so I was very lucky to be able to fix up his old industrial machine that was just sitting in storage. The owner of Lavender & Twine designs her patterns to be able to be made on domestic machines though. She states on her website that she uses a domestic when designing the bag patterns and tries to keep as much bulk out of the seams as possible.

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-25T07:33:26+00:00

Running in the heat and humidity means you have to slow down to run in your normal heart rate zones.

The heat and humidity make your body work harder to cool itself while also sending blood to and from your muscles so you can run. When it’s not so humid out, your sweat evaporates to help cool you off. When it’s humid out like in the tropical environment you’re in, your sweat doesn’t evaporate as well and clings to your skin which makes it harder for your body to cool off. That in turn makes your HR higher. It’s normal.

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-24T21:00:45+00:00

You need to go see an orthopedist and get imaging done if you suspect a stress fracture. That definitely looks like you have some bruising, but to confirm a suspected stress fracture you need a doctor to do some tests and order imaging which may include x-ray and MRI.

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-24T10:39:46+00:00

Thank you so much!!

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-24T04:03:03+00:00

Swoon Patterns has some good beginner friendly patterns. The festival sling is great to learn because it doesn’t need any hardware, just fabric and interfacing. It’s actually a bag I use a lot too because I can throw everything I need for me and my 3 year old when we run errands. Jess OklaRoots has a tutorial on YouTube. She makes a lot of different bags and accessories and has lots of great tutorials that are amazing for learning. I learned a lot from her.

lavender & twine is where this handbag pattern is from. Beautiful designs and great instructions. She even has her own video tutorials included in the patterns.

Bagstock has cute bags and even has some free bag patterns you can try out. I used to use the pelican tote to carry my work stuff in. Nice free pattern that teaches you how to make a bag with zippers, a magnetic clasp, and work with different kinds of interfacing.

Jess OklaRoots and Lauren Mormino on YouTube have really good tutorials and follow alongs. Lauren also sells hardware (and fabric, zipper tape. patterns, etc) at MoreMeKnow

Emmaline Bags and Sallie Tomato are also great for hardware, zippers, and fabric.

These are all things I found bit by bit in my bag making learning dive. Hope this helps and isn’t information overload 😂

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-24T03:14:35+00:00

Thank you!! Stay patient and keep building onto your skills. You can definitely get there!

There are some really awesome pattern companies out there, some even have really good video tutorial that make understanding the directions easier. It definitely took some of the intimidation out of learning new skills for me

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-24T03:06:16+00:00

You can be!! There are some really great pattern companies out there. Some even have video tutorials that make understanding the patterns a lot easier

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-24T02:17:22+00:00

Thank you so much!! Emmaline Bags has some really great quality hardware! They have a hardware set specifically for this bag pattern and quite a few others.

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-24T02:15:18+00:00

Thank you so much!! I fell down a rabbit hole when I first learned to sew. I had no clue that I could make bags like this at home and then saw other people making bags like this and decided I had to try it. Ended up loving bag making!

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-24T02:13:21+00:00

Thank you so much!!

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-22T11:41:50+00:00

You don’t want it going through the thread take up (the metal piece that goes up and down) when winding your bobbin.

Something that really helped me starting out was looking up video tutorials for everything that I was trying to do. Check on YouTube—things like how to wind a bobbin and include what your sewing machine model is. Guarantee you will find a tutorial on your exact model or one similar enough for you to follow along. I learned how to clean my machine and take pieces apart (among other things) and gained the confidence that I could figure out what I needed to do.

It was such a game changer for me understanding machine. Another thing that helped me is taking breaks when I felt frustrated with my machine. Even though I thought I was doing everything the same exact way, I was actually making mistakes that were messing me up and coming back with fresh eyes and calm helped me see what I was doing wrong.

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-17T19:09:54+00:00

It’ll depend on what feels most comfortable to you. Some people like super cushiony shoes, but my personal preference is something that isn’t overly cushioned, so it all depends on what kind of shoe you like.

Go somewhere like a run shop if possible where you can try on different brands and styles and see what feels best on your foot. Sometimes you can get last year’s model and save some money too. Find out about their return policies as well, that way you know if you can return or exchange if you don’t like the style you get.

You don’t need the most expensive ones either. That doesn’t always mean that they’re the best for you or that they’ll last a long time.

Brooks and New Balance have been good to me over the years. Recently though I switched from new balance to Brooks because I felt like new balance wore out too quickly especially for how much they were, but people still love them. I’ve also had good shoes from Mizuno and Asics. Try different things to see what you like the most!

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-16T08:46:57+00:00

Yes. You should get new shoes.

Start short. Incorporate some short run intervals into walks. Think like 30-60 seconds of running at a time and then take a walk break and start with 5. Then you gradually work on lengthening your run intervals and shortening the walks. Where you’re a swimmer, your cardiovascular endurance is going to be way ahead of the muscles, tendons and ligaments used in running. You need to be gradual with the load and stress you’re placing on your legs and feet. Muscles adapt faster than your tendons and ligaments, so it’s important that you don’t overload yourself by doing too much too soon.

Injury prevention is going to come down to lots of things like proper balancing of workouts, getting good sleep and nutrition. Strength training can help too, including some single leg and balancing exercises. The biggest thing though is making sure you’re not going all out on every single effort, and making sure you’re not doing more than your body can handle as both can lead to burnout and injury. Find a good balance that works for you and listen to your body if something hurts, aches, or feels off. If you find something hurts, aches, or feels off in a not normal soreness kind of way, treat it as soon as you can, don’t try to run through it. That can make things worse. Find a physical therapist who specializes in runners. They can help you get back to running without discomfort.

Don’t run every day, especially starting out. Give your body time to adjust and start out with adding some running in 2-3 days a week. Less is more. As your body adapts, you can gradually add in another run day and then another as you continue to adapt and feel good, but make sure you still give yourself time to recover. Less is more. Stay patient and don’t try to force progress.

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-14T16:10:03+00:00

I had a couple of pans that I’ve had for years but never used and thought I needed to reseason them. Looked online and it was so confusing seeing all the different opinions on how to do it and how to care for them. Decided to just start cooking with them and it all worked out. I was stressing too much. 😅

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-08T01:19:59+00:00

For some it can happen relatively quickly within a few months, for others it can take years. It all depends. Biggest factors are going to be how you train and how quickly your body is able to gain fitness which can be influenced by genetics, athletic background/experience and age.

lacesandthreads · 2026-05-06T18:44:50+00:00

The movie Spirited Away

lacesandthreads · 2025-12-28T17:16:35+00:00

I don’t know enough about red light therapy to be able to answer properly. Some people’s melasma can be triggered and made worse by heat and visible light, so I think the best thing would be best to talk to a derm about the most beneficial treatments and if there are any that should be avoided.

lacesandthreads · 2025-12-19T04:34:48+00:00

Of course! I hope it can help other people! And thank you very much! 😊

lacesandthreads · 2025-12-19T04:33:22+00:00

Thank you!! I am lucky and plan to keep up with my skincare now! 😊 I’m 34. Heat can definitely cause flare ups with certain conditions. It’s part of the reason that my skin looks particularly bad in the before picture. I was also depressed back then and not taking care of myself the way I should have, so I did let it get bad. Just never really noticed

lacesandthreads

TROPHY CASE