She Speaks! - a Vlog Meme

Around 4am this morning (my time) I was catching up on my favorite bloggers, as I often do in the wee hours. Carolyn, one of my favorite bloggers who is located in Perth, Australia, posted a vlog (video log) for a meme.

This particular meme is intended to capture dialectical variations of the English language throughout the world. I have always lived within an hours drive of San Francisco, so here's my version.

While I am comfortable taking and posting pictures (usually after doing minimal editing, such as cropping, resizing, or lightening), videos are a whole 'nuther matter. It took several attempts for me to complete the video questionnaire on my Mac using PhotoBooth. I'm not sure why it kept ending the recording, but I finally gave up trying to get it all in one go and am posting three separate short videos.

The following shows what this meme is supposed to include. First are the words to repeat:

Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

And then these questions are answered:

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

And here are my results. Note how my transition glasses change. They get darker as I'm outside and slowly lighten back inside.

Part 1 was captured outside, because I wanted to be like Carolyn, with her beautiful tropical birds and gorgeous trees. Unfortunately, though it was noon, it was windy and cold, causing the recording to be very poor quality. You also get to see a bit of my neighbor's housekeeper, which I didn't notice until I was done. :)

Part two, in my living room, also quit halfway through the questions:

Note that I misspoke when I said I grew up in "north San Francisco." What I meant to say was that I grew up north of San Francisco, about an hour away. I have always lived within an hour of SF. First to the north, then to the east, then to the south, and now smack dab in SF.

And, finally, part three, the end!

If anyone out there understands why PhotoBooth kept quitting, please let me know. I like having the option of doing a video from time to time and I did learn from this process, but I'm obviously doing something wrong.

A Circle Skirt

I am still here! Still alive and kicking. I have not sewed in a week, so my kicking is likely to turn nasty soon. :)

DD1 is graduating from high school, so there is a lot going on right now. I decided to post something that she made this week.

Her math teacher assigned a "creative" math project to wrap up their high school math experience. It could pretty much be anything they wanted. One student wrote and performed a song relating to math, for example. Another used triangular pieces of (cardboard? wood?) to construct a piece of architecture.

My daughter decided to make her own pattern for a circle skirt. For her fabric, she raided my stash and came up with a Marcy Tilton fabric (of course). This is a pebbled knit, printed with a diagonal stripe. When she threw it on the dining table (to cut it out) both of us got dizzy from that stripe! It's great... in small doses. And since I bought this to use as piping, or for small contrast areas, it is perfect for that. (And luckily I still have some left.)

I like how the diagonal printed stripe goes every which way in the circle skirt

And here's another shot of the same kid. It was a fun surprise to see DD1 featured on the poster for this year's spring show.

The same daughter appears, albeit briefly, in a music video released this week called "Get Naked." Ahem, no, she's dancing. I guess it's good that she has different interests. ;)

I will sew again. I have several half-finished projects, so I will have something new to show, hopefully soon. :)

That was fun!... Another blogger meetup.

It is so much fun to meet other sewists!

Beth, of SunnyGal Studio, decided that she was lacking in blogger meet-ups, so she arranged one today at the Balenciaga exhibit at the De Young Museum in San Francisco.

Sewing-related culture and sewing talk?

Count me in!

I was the first to arrive at the museum, and happened to run into another meet-up group - this was a small group of spinners from Ravelry. I chatted with them while waiting for my group to show.

It was great to see some BABES that I know from previous gatherings, plus several new folks, some of whom are blogless. :) After absorbing the amazing Balenciaga garments, we had lunch and chatted extensively, the way sewers can: Burda, Patrones, KnipMode, fabric acquisition, we covered it all.

Left to right:
Jean, Beth, me, Jennifer, Sydney, Rose, Jillian, Natasha

Thanks to Beth for arranging this outing! (And thanks to the obliging Australian tourist who snapped our photo. :) )

Here is some eye candy from the exhibit.

And the museum...

The De Young

And who doesn't love a safety pin scultpure?

Underwhelmed, McCalls

Mc 6352

The summer patterns are out and I am very underwhelmed, McCalls.

Looking at their offerings feels like internet shopping for my 18-year-old daughter. Yes, there are some dresses she would rock, and that are beautiful, like the one above, but my market segment is almost completely ignored.

The only pattern that I might consider buying is the new Palmer Pletsch fitted pant, Mc 6361, but I won't be rushing to buy a fitted pant pattern in the near future, even at a steep discount.

Mc 6361

Where are some cute jackets, McCalls, or some nice tops that would work for the older woman with some fluff?

Thank goodness I have lots of Vogues to play with. :)

I haven't sewn all week. Lots of work and some unpleasant family drama. (Is family drama ever pleasant? :) ) But I hope to get something accomplished this weekend.

Happy Sewing! :)

Michaels Fabric Box has Arrived!

I just received a box containing the fabrics I bought when visiting A Fabric Place (aka Michael's) in Baltimore last week. I don't normally post fabric purchases, but I promised a preview, so here you go!

Navy & White Silk Dupioni Ikat

When I saw this, towards the beginning of Michael's tour, I was on it like a monkey on a cupcake. There were only 2 yards left, which is sad, because I would have happily bought more.

Teal & Black 100% Wool

This is a soft wool, and the bold design is woven, not printed. It has a wonderful, soft hand. This will make a great jacket. If I recall correctly, he also had this in purple.

Cotton Velvet Zebra Print

I was looking for a cotton velvet print and, while this is not the sort of print I had in mind, I could not resist this wonderful fabric. The photo does not do it justice. It is rich, drapey, and almost gives the impression of an actual pelt, but with a better hand.

Betsey Johnson Cotton Bubble Print

I remember seeing this on a few sites many months ago. I kept looking at it, but held off ordering. I'm glad I did, because Michael had it in several colorways, for a good price. I chose the autumnal colorway.

Black Print Poly Crepe

This fabric is a really nice heavy poly crepe. It has a beautiful drape.

Butter Linen Jersey

I had a difficult time photographing this. It is a linen jersey in a soft yellow/light mustard color. There is also a small percentage of another fiber because the whole piece is just very slightly metallic. This is such a high-end piece. He also had this fabric in a taupe color

Polka Dot Embossed Green Lambskin

It was difficult to photograph this piece. This is the most beautiful green lambskin embossed with polka dots. If you call Michael's and mention sham's blog, you get any of his skins for $4 per square foot instead of his usual price of $8 per square foot. I don't get anything for this, but it tickles me to have a "sham's blog" offer of any kind, so do call if you are interested. :)

Green Cashmere & Silk Blend

Wow, this fabric is so hard to photograph! I can see why Michael's relies on swatches. This fabric may be my favorite of the entire bunch and I could not capture how wonderful it is. The cashmere and silk blend is pure heaven to the touch. The color is possibly best described as "sage green", but that's not really accurate. There are many different colored threads, giving it an almost heathered appearance, though I don't think that's quite the right term, since I think heathered implies black threads. I think. Anyway, this is really beautiful and I bought enough for pants.

Trip Wrap-Up

My recent vacation back east was 9-days long. I've already covered my visits to A Fabric Place (aka Michael's) and FabricMart under separate posts, but those were not the only fabric stores we visited.

Not by a long shot.

Peggy was very thorough in planning this trip, which included stays in Philadelphia and Washington D.C., as well as the central Pennsylvania area.

Here is a partially annotated summary of the fabric stores we visited:

• FabricMart in Sinking Springs, PA. Blogged here.
  
• A Fabric Place in Baltimore, MD. Blogged here.
  
• G-Street Fabrics. We visited two locations, the first in Rockville, MD, and also the one Falls Church, VA. We visited the Falls Church location twice - I really love the $2.97 tables at these stores! I discovered that they restock those tables on Friday afternoon so, of course, we had to go back. :)
  
• Pennsylvania Fabric Outlet. We visited two locations, the first in Lancaster, PA and also the one in Lemoyne, PA. These were the only discount stores I visited where I found nothing to buy. You know how discount stores can be hit or miss on any given day and, for me, these were a miss.
  
• JoAnn Fabrics. During my visit to the east coast, JoAnn's was having a rare week-long sale called the "Daffodil Rush" sale. This included patterns (which I didn't buy because I am stocked up on patterns) and half off their Red Tag fabrics. When I shop at my two (sorta) local JoAnns, they do not have decent Red Tag fabrics. But I was very impressed with the Red Tag fabrics at the stores in Pennsylvania, so I visited several (these stores are everywhere) and came away with some worthwhile booty. I visited the stores in Carlisle, PA, Arlington, VA, and at least three others where I never asked their location.
  
• JoMars. We visited two locations, first the one on I Street in Philadelphia, which is in an area that has suffered depressingly under the poor economy. We arrived here at the end of a long day and were all exhausted (and Carolyn's cold was getting worse). And yet I managed to find some nice fabrics hidden amongst the mediocre fabrics. The next day we visited the store on Jackson Street (also in Philly) where I found even more goodies. :) If you aren't familiar with JoMars, be aware that they sell other items. When you first enter, you see cheap shoes, luggage and the like, and the fabrics are hidden deep in the store (either in the back or upstairs), so don't be confused.
  
• Exquisite Fabrics in Washington D.C. This store has beautiful fabrics, but they are pricey. I didn't find anything here, but maybe it's not fair because I stopped here after visiting FabricMart and A Fabric Place. I hadn't been in the store long when when my cell phone rang and I stepped out to take the call, so I may have missed some great fabrics and good prices.
  

We also visited a variety of clothing boutiques in our travels. My favorites were Tiger's Eye in Lititz, PA and Helia's, which has a location in Georgetown, Washington D.C., and another in Alexandria, VA. I managed to purchase items at all three boutiques. :) I have talked a bit about these in this blog entry. I also enjoyed the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, VA. I found a necklace there and, on a recommendation from one of the artists in residence, a nearby yummy Lebanese restaurant called Pita House.

What did we skip? Initially we planned to hit Fabric Row in Philly, but Carolyn was in the throes of a nasty cold and, while she rested, Peggy and I decided that there were places we'd rather spend our time visiting, such as several Philly boutiques.

D.C. Cupcakes in Georgetown

And, just because I want to include a few other pictures...

I did wait in line for cupcakes at D.C. Cupcakes. I guess I have to watch the show now to see why this line was so darned long. The Red Velvet and Pumpkin Spice with Maple Frosting cupcakes that Peggy and I enjoyed were good. Not great, but good.

Washington D.C.

And, yes, I took a tour of the Washington D.C. Mall. It was my first (and possibly last) time to D.C., so it seemed like a good idea. I didn't take any pictures on the tour but, as I walked past the Iwo Jima Memorial on the way to Arlington Cemetery (where I was starting the tour), I noticed the hands on the statue's flag pole and was inspired to take a few pics. I really like the unity of the hands.

Iwo Jima Memorial
It took me several shots and some luck to get that perfect "unfurled flag" moment.

Arlington National Cemetery

The Wharf at Alexandria, VA

My Pilgrimmage to FabricMart

Any of you who has followed my blog much will know that I love to order from FabricMart. Their great prices, quality fabrics, generous cuts, and $8 flat rate shipping makes them very appealing to the discerning shopper. As a jobber, they don't carry every single fabric you might be looking for, but if you go in with an open mind to see what they have available, you will find treasures galore.

In fact, Carolyn and I often joke about who loves FabricMart more.

We joke, but seriously... it's me. :)

When Peggy invited me back east for a fabric-related road trip, I was ecstatic to realize that she was only an hour or so from FM, so that became a focus for the trip. And of course I invited Carolyn along. And Noile. (Peggy is such a good sport and had encouraged me to invite a couple friends.)

The night before, all three sewists warned me not to get overexcited because, well, maybe I was expecting too much, but it was even better than I had hoped. If you doubt it, just look at how ridiculous I look in this picture with Robert, the owner.

Seriously, this is embarrassing. Had someone just made a salty comment to crack me up? I can not think of a single celebrity who would give me an expression as goofy as this one.

(By the way, thanks to Carolyn for these in-store photos as I wasn't thinking much about capturing the experience. And thanks to the camera-shy Noile for taking some photos outside with my camera.)

We met just about everyone there, including:

• Robert, the incredibly gracious and generous owner who let us run through every corner of the store &ndash even to the back where the fabric was coming off the trucks and to the Basement of Delight.
  
• Julie, of Julie's pics.
  
• Chris, who handles billing – her name on the "from" line when you get your boxes. Chris told me how I can use my Discovercard for online orders (the form only allows Visa and MasterCard). And she told Carolyn what magic she needs to get her boxes faster, just like she used to.
  
• Sharon, who makes the mystery bundles (and who cut most of our fabric).
  
• Jenna, whom I have spoken to on the phone and also helped out with the cutting.
  
• The strong guys who carry the ginormous bolts around, 'cause, you know, someone has to do that.
  
• The "Roller Master" who puts the fabric onto smaller bolts for the store and to send to retail establishments.
  
• Jennifer, who was preparing wholesale orders in the dim basement and remained steadfastly gracious even when I pestered her endlessly to let me take some fabric from the only bolt of to-die-for fabric heading to Stone Mountain. (And no, I didn't get any.)
  
• The girls who fill the orders and one, in particular, who cut off the 1-1/2 yards for a customer's order so I could buy the rest of the bolt.
  

The only person not there that day was Sue, of Sue's pick, which was a shame, but it's not like we warned them or anything. ;) I must apologize for the names I've forgotten. But, like other unnamed intense encounters, my blood seems to rush from my brain to other parts of my body &ndash in this case, my credit card.

So, what did I buy? Here's a sneak peek.

My bounty. The blue and green fabrics on the lower left are linen jersey, but I also got black.

When I returned to San Francisco last night, there was a sizable box waiting on my porch. I haven't opened it up yet, but when I do, I will post some better pictures. Including pics of the linen jersey that Carolyn has already posted about.

And here's a little more background to that story...

The night before our visit to FM, the four of us were chatting, late in the night, over some serious candy carnage. I mentioned that I would really like to find some linen jersey on this trip and that the only linen jersey I had seen for sale was in very limited colors and cost megabucks (around $25) per yard. Imagine my delight the next day at FM when that truck rolled in and started off-loading linen jersey. Robert innocently showed us a couple bolts of the newly arrived jersey, and the staff looked on, amused, as the four of us ran pell-mell through the store to the loading dock in back. Robert allowed us to grab the bolts in the colors we liked.

So, let me just say, if you are anywhere near Sinking Springs, Pennsylvania, that FabricMart is well worth a visit. They have fabrics that are not on their site, including the table of sale bolts. There's not much else in the town, but take some friends and have fun. They even fed us homemade treats – that chocolate covered peanut butter egg made by the local Mennonite church ladies sustained me through the experience. :)

Oh, and Robert mentioned the possibility of having a FM open house in the near future. Get on his mailing list (or become a fan on Facebook) so you will be notified of any events. I can't make it back for this, but it's worth going if you live within a few hours drive.

I don't know if I need to say this, because I say it all the time, but this post is entirely my opinion and is not in any way a paid advertisement. I have never shilled for any business. (And if I did, I'd tell you. :) )