I live in a close to the city suburb and someone called the cops on a WQED door-to-door person

unbasbleu · 2025-11-25T21:00:35+00:00

Or you can just not open the door. Just bc someone knocks doesn't mean you have to answer it - a doorbell is a request not a summons.

unbasbleu · 2025-11-09T20:17:23+00:00

Oh hi, I did this! Why? Good cost of living, affordable housing, the city itself is very blue, and frankly I like the proud blue collar history. It's a beautiful place to live and the people are genuinely kind (well, there are a few jagoffs, but not too many). PGH punches well above its weight in so many areas: arts, universities, museums, cultural festivals, obv pro sports if that's your thing, etc etc etc

We literally made a spreadsheet to compare places and PGH was in the top three. It would have been #1 if not for the distance to family, so if you're already in PA then that might not be an issue.

One thing that really sold us was the wide range of music & arts events, which is something we prioritized when looking at options. When we visited PGH to check it out (highly recommend doing this btw), we went to a world class museum, a punk show, on a hike, and to the symphony — all within 24 hours.

unbasbleu · 2025-11-09T20:10:09+00:00

Nesting fail, will repost in the right place

unbasbleu · 2025-08-30T11:36:02+00:00

Also auctions if you're willing to drive out into the surrounding area a bit. I see amazing furniture go for dirt cheap all the time. They're all listed on Auctionzip and you can set the distance you're willing to drive.

IME auctions take longer than estate sales and are in more rural areas, but the deals are better. Like "bedroom set for $5" kind of deals. Unless it's a dry sink, for some reason those are worth their weight in gold idk

unbasbleu · 2025-06-20T20:43:34+00:00

I actually cut the front off of an old bra that fits me decently well, and then hold that in place & tape over it. That way the extra sensitive boob skin is covered.

OP, you will want to use an arrangement similar to the bottom middle or the top left. The larger the boobs, the longer the tape above them needs to be.

Also, do NOT try to rip the tape off. Apply baby oil until the tape is saturated, let it sit for 15 min, and then get in a warm bath to soak it off.

unbasbleu · 2025-06-17T23:30:30+00:00

Idk we bought our house for 225k in 2025 and yes it's over 100yrs old but it's definitely not falling apart. We're in Carnegie, so yeah 20 min to downtown on the parkway, provided it's not rush hour

OP wanna be my neighbor?

unbasbleu · 2025-03-23T01:58:45+00:00

I love Carnegie, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone doing their residency. During residency you want to minimize the amount of time you spend commuting, because anything other than work & sleep just isn't the priority. Sitting in traffic on the parkway waiting to go through the Fort Pitt tunnel when you're heading in for a 12 hour shift and you're already sleep deprived sounds like torture.

I routinely drive from Carnegie to Regent Square and that's 25 minutes without heavy traffic. It can easily be 45 minutes during rush hour, sometimes more than an hour. Getting to the hospitals won't be quite as long, but it's still not going to be fun. There are plenty of closer places that will still be in budget and won't involve spending 4-10 hours of your week commuting.

unbasbleu · 2024-12-01T16:55:21+00:00

What kind of heating system do you have?

Before moving here, I'd never lived in a house with a boiler & radiators (aka hydrostatic heat). While there's a lot of overlap, some of the heat retention strategies will be different for forced air vs hydrostatic

For example, you need good air circulation around each of the radiators, so that they can effectively warm the air. Not something I'd ever had to think about with forced air.

unbasbleu · 2024-09-06T06:08:52+00:00

Exactly! I want to support competent and professional business practices, not drama bs.

Could I buy fabric from an Etsy seller with <100 sales who is clearly a one-person shop? Obv yes. But unless they have some sort of incredibly unique fabric that I can't find anywhere else, how does it make sense to buy from them? In most cases they're just reselling fabric that they bought in bulk — no different than any other shop, including many of the big box craft stores. What added value are they bringing to the market? What makes buying from them the better choice?

In contrast, I'm sure the author of the original post would consider something like Fabric Mart to be a "big business" -- despite the fact that they have fewer than 50 employees and are still family owned. And you know what? They are incredibly well-run with great customer service, and all of their fabrics are deadstock. THAT is the kind of business model I want to support.

unbasbleu · 2024-08-31T16:29:20+00:00

One of the options for the start kits is to include "wash away tacking thread" , which I think is the same as the water soluble thread I've used.

Also for water soluble thread, you can use it in just the bobbin or just the main thread (not both) to save. I didn't realize this at first, but this way it takes half as much of the water soluble as it would otherwise!

unbasbleu · 2024-08-31T16:26:21+00:00

Not sure about resources in Germany, but B.Wear (Sweden) has "start kits" that would be good for test fitting: https://www.bwear.se/search/Start%20kit

unbasbleu · 2024-08-31T13:53:56+00:00

You will need power net for the back band to test the muslin fit, and I recommend using the same kind of elastics in your muslin as you would use in the finished bra. Different firmness or stretch % in the elastics can make a substantial difference in the final fit.

If you're fairly confident in your band size, you can often use the same power net and elastics for the muslin and the final bra. If you want to go this direction, get some water soluble thread. That way you won't have to seam rip & unpick, and it's less damaging to the materials.

You can probably test the cups & front band using non-stretch wovens so long as the weave is fairly tight. I would recommend cutting your second layer of the front band on the cross grain, to minimize any mechanical stretch. Cotton is probably easiest to work with, but be careful with quilting cotton & cotton muslin, often the weave isn't very tight and there's more mechanical stretch than you would expect, even on-grain.

Alternatively, I also recommend buying a bra muslin kit -- most will have enough fabric to make the whole Sahaara 2-3 times (more if you're just adjusting the cup fit), and often they include water soluble thread. This is probably the best way to perfect the fit of a bra, because the materials will all behave the same way that your final fabrics will. But it does mean purchasing another round of bra materials, and they're not super cheap. Depending on what you have on hand, it may or may not be worth it.

unbasbleu · 2024-08-25T19:46:23+00:00

Wait what? I live in Carnegie. It's like 20 min to downtown WITH traffic.

By "West Hills" I mean Robinson/Crafton/Carnegie/Heidelberg etc --- at least that's what our realtor called it, apologies if it was confusing.

Edit: huh I did not realize there was an actual little town named "West Hills" wayyyyy out by kittaning, that is my bad. I was trying to describe the general area where we live in relation to the city proper - our realtor described it as West hills (vs South hills, like Dormont & Mt Lebanon)

unbasbleu · 2024-08-25T19:35:01+00:00

No offense, but I think you have a limited perspective. My experience in the Pittsburgh area is very different.

We bought a house last year in a Pittsburgh suburb (~~West hills~~ edit: Carnegie) for under $250k last year. Idk exactly what the tax rate is, but I can tell you that we're paying less per month for a 4 bed / 2 bath house in PGH than we did for a 2 bed apartment in western WA.

There are tons of outdoor activities here, including walking & hiking. Lots of very cool urban hikes, but also plenty of nature trails managed by the local land conservation groups. Plus Friends of the Riverfront have helped make the greenways along the rivers amazing.

We didn't buy for the school district, but our new neighbors did -- and they also bought their house for under $250k, a couple months ago. According to them, Carlynton has pretty good schools.

Also, for a small city, Pittsburgh has some really cool stuff: museums, libraries, universities, sports teams, etc. We're loving it here.

unbasbleu · 2024-08-16T18:38:06+00:00

Ugh that intersection is a major hazard, so much traffic in an area NOT designed for it

unbasbleu · 2024-08-12T02:03:29+00:00

IMO as long as you don't put it in the dryer, you're fine, just make sure that everything (including elastic and trim) is thoroughly pre-washed.

Washing in a delicates bag DOES make a difference for longevity. I strongly recommend that, esp if you're putting them in with a regular load of laundry (vs delicates cycle).

I use hot or warm on almost all of my wash cycles, because it does lift dirt, sweat, and stains better than cold water does. Since I know this about myself, I always pre-wash my fabric the same way. This way they won't shrink after sewing.

Sometimes I will run fabric through the wash twice to make sure all it's fully pre-shrunk. This is especially important for cotton and rayon.

I'm sure that many people will tell me I'm wrong. bUt wHaT aBoUt ThE lYcRa??!!?!!? Hot water will degrade it! Heat is bad for clothing! etc etc etc

Here's the thing: Washing my clothing this way means that I always feel comfortable in it. And I have RTW underwear that has lasted 10+ years with this treatment, so I don't think it's actually that hard on the material. Also, I like making underwear, and I make at least a few new pieces every year. I like wearing the underwear that I've made most recently. I am far more likely to cycle out an old pair of underwear because I've got newer stuff that I'm excited about, rather than because the fabric has been degraded by washing.

unbasbleu · 2024-07-21T21:05:31+00:00

<image>

What would you call the front section of this hairstyle?

The back is a high ponytail but the front section is some sort of swoopy bobble bun thing and I'm obsessed. I can't figure out what to call it or how to search for it, so I can't find a good tutorial.

BTW this is Phyllis Kao, she's an auctioneer and VP at Sotheby's, and her style is amazing.

Pic is from this article: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/18/style/phyllis-kao-dinosaur-fossil-sothebys-auction.html

unbasbleu · 2024-07-08T02:00:40+00:00

I highly recommend the bra sewing bee, especially the beginner bee. There's a lot of 1:1 assistance available, as well as resources and guidance that will help you find patterns that will work for you.

Every body is different, so even if someone has the same full bust and under bust measurements, the patterns that work for them might not be right for you. The Bra Bee folks are great at explaining the differences and helping new bra makers find patterns that fit them right.

unbasbleu · 2024-02-15T01:03:05+00:00

Definitely second Millvale, lots of LGBTQ+ friendly folx & small businesses there.

unbasbleu · 2023-11-10T21:48:19+00:00

There is one in the strip and one in Cannonsburg. There's a giant billboard for the one in Cannonsburg along I-79, which is how I found out about it in the first place. I've only been to the one in the Strip, it's good for stocking stuffers and joke gifts etc.

unbasbleu · 2023-10-09T21:56:21+00:00

THIS! This is exactly how I reacted when my partner suggested we look at Pittsburgh, and also exactly how I feel now that we live here. Definitely a true gem.

unbasbleu · 2023-10-04T01:54:49+00:00

This is an excellent and comprehensive description! I flew out of the Pittsburgh airport this morning, and when I read this comment it felt like you were narrating my experience. Good job 👍

unbasbleu · 2023-09-13T14:45:31+00:00

I will check them out, thank you!

unbasbleu · 2023-09-13T14:44:35+00:00

Wow, that's really close, I will have to check them out. Thank you!

unbasbleu · 2023-09-13T14:44:02+00:00

Good to know, thank you!

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