Thursday, July 24, 2014

Grommets, Britex Blogger, Glasses, Minnesota Meetup


This is a "miscellaneous" blog post!

TOC:

Grommets

Thanks for all the kind feedback on my grommet coat! I wore it to work today and I do like it! The big pockets are so useful (and Pockets Are King). I was asked a few questions in the comments, so let me answer here:

Do the grommets make the coat heavy?
No. They give the coat some nice heft, but even 2 gross of grommets weighs very little.
Where do you buy grommets?
I bought mine from Seattle Fabrics, but I can also recommend Richard the Thread, who also sells white grommets. I used size 0 for the coat, except for the larger grommets on the pockets, which are size 2.
What is the difference between an eyelet and a grommet?
In my experience, an eyelet is smaller than a grommet and uses only one piece of metal. Eyelets are used on shoes for threading the laces, for example. Grommets are more heavy duty and use two pieces of metal. The backside also has a washer-type piece of metal. Both come in a variety of sizes, though grommets come in much larger sizes, intended for very heavy duty use. I googled "difference between eyelets and grommets" and found this and this. So, YMMV.

Britex Blogger

There was some nice fallout from my talk at Britex last month. They have asked me to become a Britex blogger! (You can now see the badge on my blog, which takes you to their site.) I picked up my first piece of fabric a couple weeks ago, but I haven't been able to start sewing it yet. I was going to start after finishing the grommet coat, then I realized that I didn't own the pattern I wanted to use as a springboard, so I had to order it. It's a really gorgeous piece of fabric, and I want to do it justice, so stay tuned!

Minnesota Meetup!

Minnesotans are such friendly people!

After posting that I would be spending a few days in the Minneapolis area (taking my daughter off to university), I received some nice emails. Several of those offered to arrange a meetup while I am there, and I decided to accept one of the lovely offers! However, there are limited spots available. The meetup is scheduled for Saturday, August 30th, at 3pm and will be held at Treadle Yard Goods in St Paul. Please send me email if you would like to come and I will get you on the list, on a first-come first-served basis.

THANKS to Treadle Yard Goods and to Alice M for arranging everything! I look forward to meeting some of you in St Paul!

Glasses

One of my favorite doctors is the eye doctor! Why, you ask? Well, how many doctors write a prescription for fashion accessories? (If a podiatrist wrote a prescription for, say, Trippens, I would go to that doctor!) I have two new pair of everyday glasses, and one even relates to sewing!

New glasses #1 - by a brand called Fish
New glasses #2 - by Karl Lagerfeld

It might be hard to see, but the Karl Lagerfeld glasses feature (non-functioning) zippers on the sides! I love these. Here is another close up.

The zipper pull is on the left side only. I took this pic in the Google Coffee Lab and their counter features intentional coffee rings. It's a very cool effect!

And, just for fun...

One of the Google cafes is in a building that has a transportation theme. This VW bus is used by folks who want to hang out and work, or eat. I guess the tire lock is to discourage any pranks. ;)

43 comments:

  1. Congrats on becoming a Britex blogger and love the new glasses!

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  2. Ditto Carolyn's comments! Love your glasses; i bought nice ($$) ones because, wearing them all the time, I think of them like jewelry!

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  3. Cool Glasses!! Gotta go add Britex to my blog roll............congratulations!

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  4. Britex is lucky to have you! I will add them to my reading list and buy a little more from them, as soon as I figure out how to use the last beautifully unique fabric I purchased! Love the zip glasses especially. Isn't it nice to see clearly?

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  5. Britex knows a good thing when they see one!

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  6. how exciting being a Britex blogger! And cool glasses.

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  7. It's about time you became a Britex blogger! Welcome to the club :) And those glasses are fabulous! Lunch, soon!

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    1. Thanks, Nicole! Yes, I definitely want to do lunch!!

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  8. i love my glasses so much! it's pitiful how bad my eyesight is, with specs i can see, my eyes aren't irritated like with contacts, plus - Fashion Statement!!

    Both pair are super nice and quite flattering, and those KL ones are KILLER!!! hmm, don't hate me if i end up with a copycat pair next time i need new specs ;) I noticed that Britex Blogger sticker a while ago, how fun for us to see what you come up with! I'm very happy to see Britex getting a bit more involved with events and reaching out to the sewing community, i know that i discovered some items i was happy to be able to buy at the blogger event and i had no idea they carried that type of merch. So hopefully this will work out for Britex as well!!

    That VW is a hoot, that's the kind of car i learned to drive in. ah, memories..... oh how could i forget that duster is too cool for school, lady!! i had to laugh at myself, i was looking at your post thinking, 'wow she is dedicated setting all those grommets! by hand!! so much work!!!' of course what was i doing at the time, hand stitching around some alabama chanin style stenciling. (rolls eyes at self)

    Have fun and keep sewing!!! take care, steph

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    1. I always smile when I see your comments, Stephanie! Whether on my blog or someone else's. I won't hate you if you end up with the same glasses. We can be zipper sisters. :)

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  9. BIG congrats on the Britex Blogger "job" (a job you can really enjoy - especially with a gorgeous fabric selection!)

    And I love Love LOVE both of your glasses! I really need new ones myself - one of my dreams is to have a dozen pair of fabulous glasses, but I need to buy a lottery ticket first ;-)

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    1. Thanks, Jillian! I looked into buying glasses online now that I have a new prescription. It's true that you can get frames cheaply, but the lenses mount up if you start adding progressive lenses, or coatings, or sunglass coatings. Oy.

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    2. (leaving lurkdom temporarily) 8-D

      I too, have always wanted a "wardrobe" of eyewear, and thanks to online shopping, I do now. I get my glasses from Zenni Optical. I have 9 pairs of glasses and I paid less than I would pay for one pair. Can't recommend them enough. And, no I am not getting paid for this.

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  10. Such funky glasses, and they look terrific on you! Have a blast with the Britex blogging. What fun!

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  11. "I can see clearly now, the rain...." lala I love the glasses, and your new blog gig sounds like fun!

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    1. lol. Thanks, Mary-with-the-cute-new-haircut!

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  12. It will be so interesting to see what you come up with for your Britex blogger posts with all that fabric to play with. Fun! and cool specs

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    1. lol. They'd blind you with my prescription, Kathy.

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  14. A blog post full of great news, plus way cool glasses. Big fun for everyone! I just got a new rx for glasses too (but I'm going to get my new lenses in my same frames b/c I love my old frames!)

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    1. Thanks, Claire! I generally wear my glasses out with hard use, so I've never been able to use a pair for more than one prescription. But now I have two pair, so we'll see.

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  15. I love your specs. I'm sure to get my eyes tested again - in any case, it's time I had a new pair, my favourite ones have the painted coating peeling off in places. I agree, they're a fashion statement, too.

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  16. Oh my goodness, I LOVE those new Karl Lagerfeld glasses. Just love them. Congrats on being invited to blog for Britex; hope it's fun! And thx for answering questions about the grommets.

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  17. I've been meaning to visit the eye doctor and those KL glasses are calling to me.

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  18. Love the new glasses...the Karl Lagerfeld pair is to die for! Just so you know, I'm loving your Google campus mini tours...! That has to be the neatest place to work ever :)

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    1. Thanks, Carolina! I'm glad to hear that the mini tours are interesting. I have a lot more pics that I never post.

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  19. Shams that is great on the Britex gig - remember that is where I bumped into you IRL and I was all fangurl gushing at you and everything :)
    Oh and I love the glasses too

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    1. Thanks, Beth! I *totally* remember that day! That was the first day that I met Sharman.

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  20. Love your glasses. I love your blog ,it always brings a smile to my face.

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  21. How exciting to blog for Britex. I wish it weren't a 4+ hour drive for me. Those KL glasses are TDF!

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  22. Congrats on the Britex gig! I'm looking forward to reading your posts! Love the glasses too!

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  23. Congrats on the Britex guest blogger!!! I love the Karl Lagerfield glasses, very cool!

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  24. I love the new glasses, my favorite is the Fish pair despite the coolness of the zipper on the other pair.

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