Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

I’m not sure I like the casualization all that much.  When I was in high school, the difference between first dress and “casual uniform” at my own school was whether we wore a blazer or not.  These days, kids have the option of wearing polos at some schools (including my son’s, where they don’t need to wear dress shirts and ties until middle school.  This isn’t super common in any other private school in the city, for boys OR girls).  I think they look even MORE like slobs than when we were in school, and we looked like slobs back then (hey, it was the 90s. Grunge was a thing).  The pandemic only made it worse.  And as for adults, the only dress down look I can tolerate is the mom uniform.  And that doesn’t belong in an office unless you’re working from home and aren’t seeing people online. 

It seems acceptance of casual dress is related to climate — which makes sense.
My parents lived in Hawaii for 30 years; it probably took at least 20 years for them to not think it was wrong for men to show up in a restaurant in shorts. 

I lived in a somewhat warmer climate for 4 years in Sacramento CA. It was the only place I felt I could go to the grocery store in the style of pants I slept in.

Also in Sacto I worked in a private, college-prep Catholic girls school, where Fridays they were permitted to wear jeans instead of their uniforms.

 

About clothes for shorter women: Fortunately I can easily hem anything by hand using "blind stitching," and I really don't mind doing it.

[lookeyloo]

6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

About clothes for shorter women: Fortunately I can easily hem anything by hand using "blind stitching," and I really don't mind doing it.

For me that doesn't always work because the rise is too long on pants, and dresses have the waist in the wrong part of my body.  The proportion of "petite" clothes works best for me.  And petite is a proportion.  They go up to size 16.  I think back in the way olden days there was some accommodation for short waisted ladies.  My grandma wore an 18 1/2.

[shapeshifter]

5 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

For me that doesn't always work because the rise is too long on pants, and dresses have the waist in the wrong part of my body.  The proportion of "petite" clothes works best for me.  And petite is a proportion.  They go up to size 16.  I think back in the way olden days there was some accommodation for short waisted ladies.  My grandma wore an 18 1/2.

I have a very "short waist," but now that I'm at an age where everything sags so much, the regular-length torso clothes work for me, albeit not likely in the manner intended, LOL.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

Yes I do!  Talbot's has a petite section and depending on the moment, some viable options and lately they run a lot of really good sales.  My Talbot's clothes never wear out or show signs of wear.  But to me too expensive to buy full price.  I also think what has contributed is "fast fashion" from places like Temu, etc. and I know my granddaughter and her friends buy something, they all wear it and then pitch it.  And a lot of these things are made in Asia and those women are very small.  I watch some YouTube videos of American young women who now live in Japan of what we consider normal size and they say it is very difficult for them to find clothing that fits, including shoes.  One would think someone would key into the average American woman but when that happens usually out of most average American woman price range

Years ago I used to go to a Japanese mini-mall in Edgewater, NJ that had a store that sold clothing made in Japan. It fit me like it was made for me! This was just around the time that petite sizes were appearing in American stores too, like around the mid to late '80s. My mother was grateful because she no longer had to hem so many of my pants, sleeves and skirts. That mall changed hands decades ago now and the clothing store is no longer there. But there's still a very large Japanese supermarket and food court there that's very worth visiting. I miss it! My husband's boss's mother in law lives in Ft. Lee and he takes her there often. I'm jealous. One of these days I want to go there.

[annzeepark914]

I remember when "petite" dresses first appeared in stores (in the '80s). They looked like dresses for 8 year old girls, complete with puffy sleeves, bows, etc. Thank goodness it didn't take long for the clothes to improve in design. I just needed petite for the length (sleeves and slacks).

[lookeyloo]

13 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Years ago I used to go to a Japanese mini-mall in Edgewater, NJ that had a store that sold clothing made in Japan. It fit me like it was made for me! This was just around the time that petite sizes were appearing in American stores too, like around the mid to late '80s. My mother was grateful because she no longer had to hem so many of my pants, sleeves and skirts. That mall changed hands decades ago now and the clothing store is no longer there. But there's still a very large Japanese supermarket and food court there that's very worth visiting. I miss it! My husband's boss's mother in law lives in Ft. Lee and he takes her there often. I'm jealous. One of these days I want to go there.

Fun! We have an HMart which is gigantic and usually freezing so we don't go there all that often. Also it is a little drive away.  But, fascinating.  And now I know I can use the translate feature on my phone to see what the labels actually say.  

[Yeah No]

28 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

It seems acceptance of casual dress is related to climate — which makes sense.
My parents lived in Hawaii for 30 years; it probably took at least 20 years for them to not think it was wrong for men to show up in a restaurant in shorts. 

I lived in a somewhat warmer climate for 4 years in Sacramento CA. It was the only place I felt I could go to the grocery store in the style of pants I slept in.

Also in Sacto I worked in a private, college-prep Catholic girls school, where Fridays they were permitted to wear jeans instead of their uniforms.

Yes and with global warming that is probably spreading it more than it once did. I remember 20 years ago or so when I visited Boston I thought everyone was dressed much more formally than in NYC. But that I also think has something to do with the culture. I've been to Boston in the past few years and it's nowhere near that formal anymore.

31 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

About clothes for shorter women: Fortunately I can easily hem anything by hand using "blind stitching," and I really don't mind doing it.

Lucky you. I tried my hand at sewing but I could never master it. My talent was never in that area unfortunately. And now with y "arthritis hands" forget it.

24 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

For me that doesn't always work because the rise is too long on pants, and dresses have the waist in the wrong part of my body.  The proportion of "petite" clothes works best for me.  And petite is a proportion.  They go up to size 16.  I think back in the way olden days there was some accommodation for short waisted ladies.  My grandma wore an 18 1/2.

Thank you!! Petite is a proportion not just shorter legs and arms. Everything needs to be scaled down. And forget coats. Try altering one of those. The pockets and waist will be too low. Interestingly tailoring was on both sides of my family. My Jewish side were all tailors and ran a tailoring business in lower Manhattan that made uniforms. The women in my Sicilian family were all seamstresses. My mother said they were forced into it because they were so short they couldn't wear clothing off the rack. My mother and grandmother were only 4'11" tall! Even shorter than me! So you'd think some of that talent would have been passed down to me but sadly, no. I'm a great cook, though!

So when petite women complain that they can't find clothing, it's not just that they're being particular. If people could see the way regular sizes look on me they'd sympathize. I was frankly shocked when I told my sister in law a few months ago that I had to wear petite sizes and she acted surprised like she never realized that. Of course, she's 5'8". Did she just assume I could fit the same clothes she fits? Or maybe she just never thought about it. Most people don't I guess.

Interestingly when I was heavier and wearing a plus size 14 or 16 in pants they were shorter and fit me better, although not as well as petite pants. I found out that plus sizes have slightly shorter arms and legs than regular "misses" sizes.

And @shapeshifter, I have a "short waist" too so the higher rise of regular sized pants is sometimes a better fit for me. But the length ruins it for me. Oh well.

2 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

I remember when "petite" dresses first appeared in stores (in the '80s). They looked like dresses for 8 year old girls, complete with puffy sleeves, bows, etc. Thank goodness it didn't take long for the clothes to improve in design. I just needed petite for the length (sleeves and slacks).

Yeah I remember that too. But it did get better soon enough, thankfully.

3 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

Fun! We have an HMart which is gigantic and usually freezing so we don't go there all that often. Also it is a little drive away.  But, fascinating.  And now I know I can use the translate feature on my phone to see what the labels actually say.  

I love HMart too. The one I'm talking about is called Mitsuwa Market.

[Mindthinkr]

2 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

Talbot's has a petite section

They do (I’m 4’9”), but they do not carry any sizes less than 6 petite in my area. I also miss the Petite Sophisticate store. I over buying girls size 10-12 especially as they embellish with stuff that is much too young for me. 

Edited Monday at 01:46 PM by Mindthinkr
Dang. Forgot to proofread.

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

The women in my Sicilian family were all seamstresses. My mother said they were forced into it because they were so short they couldn't wear clothing off the rack. My mother and grandmother were only 4'11" tall!

Family lore is so unreliable, which gives us license to discover alternate, plausible explanations. Maybe sewing was just an acceptable means of artistic expression for women in their community? Sort of like descriptions in the Little House books. A lot of it would have to do with availability of fabric v. ready-made clothing too.

Or, if your Mother was like mine, she might prefer to think they could have bought ready-made clothes, or been told that was the case, but perhaps in reality they could not afford to, and that was not an acceptable story to pass on to descendants.

My Mother's Mother knitted entire suits. She had been a debutante, but the family money was lost in the stock market crash of The Great Depression — or so I was repeatedly told.

I sewed a lot of clothes until I had 3 kids and Walmart came to town. Then it became cheaper to buy clothes and I didn't have the time to make them. 

 

BTW. My Dad's Mother was 4'11" too. 
 

Edited Monday at 02:31 PM by shapeshifter

[PRgal]

5 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

For me that doesn't always work because the rise is too long on pants, and dresses have the waist in the wrong part of my body.  The proportion of "petite" clothes works best for me.  And petite is a proportion.  They go up to size 16.  I think back in the way olden days there was some accommodation for short waisted ladies.  My grandma wore an 18 1/2.

Yep.  That's me, too.  Petite can be LARGER than a 16.  Petite plus exists.  Even for tops, a petite sized top is shorter than regular and has a slightly narrower fit.

[Absolom]

5 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Years ago I used to go to a Japanese mini-mall in Edgewater, NJ that had a store that sold clothing made in Japan. It fit me like it was made for me! This was just around the time that petite sizes were appearing in American stores too, like around the mid to late '80s. 

I went to China Town in San Francisco.  It was a wonderland for shopping for me.  They had US styled work wear, too.  Fortunately work sent me to San Jose regularly so it was easy for me to add a half day shopping trip before flying home.  Now it's all available through Amazon. 

My mother found petite sizes for me in the late 60s and there were some department stores carrying petites in the 70s.  The small specialty shops opened in the 80s, but petites were around earlier if you knew where to look.  My prom dress was special order through a woman who did personal shopping from an addition to her house.  It was by appointment and she had her own group of seamstresses to do any needed alterations.  If you were a client of hers, she'd order things in your size and have a whole room set up with them on display when you arrived. Everything she got for me was a petite and this was all in the 60s.  There was also a boutique type store with a bridal shop attached that carried petites and would order anything they carried in the customer's size if it was available from the manufacturer. 

[EtheltoTillie]

My mother used to make things like knitted suits @shapeshifter.  I have some great vintage knitting books from the '40s and '50s, where they have the most wonderful suit patterns, but it would take about five years to knit one of the skirts.  They're in super fine-gauge yarns and they are quite long and have a bazillion stitches.   I love the styling of the jackets. 

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Family lore is so unreliable, which gives us license to discover alternate, plausible explanations. Maybe sewing was just an acceptable means of artistic expression for women in their community? Sort of like descriptions in the Little House books. A lot of it would have to do with availability of fabric v. ready-made clothing too.

Or, if your Mother was like mine, she might prefer to think they could have bought ready-made clothes, or been told that was the case, but perhaps in reality they could not afford to, and that was not an acceptable story to pass on to descendants.

My Mother's Mother knitted entire suits. She had been a debutante, but the family money was lost in the stock market crash of The Great Depression — or so I was repeatedly told.

I sewed a lot of clothes until I had 3 kids and Walmart came to town. Then it became cheaper to buy clothes and I didn't have the time to make them. 

 

BTW. My Dad's Mother was 4'11" too. 
 

My great grandmother was born in Sicily in the late 1870s so I'm sure most women back then had to know how to sew because there were fewer clothes available to buy in stores in that place and time. And when they came to the "new world" and lived in NYC and Montreal who knows what they had for clothes buying choices? I'm sure most women short or tall knew how to sew. It was customary for young women to learn sewing back then in many cultures.

The skill came in handy when women came to the U.S. because they could go to work and make a little extra money. Many people were poor when they came here and women worked to supplement their family income. This was true of my mom's family during the Great Depression. My grandmother told me she went back to work with her cousins making hats. They taught their daughters to sew too and that's how my Mom learned it. Also, my mother was not content to look poor. She was able to use her skill to sew herself some fine looking clothes. She then used it to make me some nice clothes when I was a kid and then my wedding gown, which I cherish because it was a true labor of love, and just beautiful. I was able to buy very fine Italian silk and Spanish lace that I'd never be able to afford. That gown would have cost a fortune if I had to buy it in a store. So this is why my mother's family learned sewing. 

My father's family learned sewing because a lot of Jews at the time were tailors and in the garment industry. So they were no exception. They had a thriving uniform business in London at the end of the 19th century and then again here in NYC.

It's a sad story how my great grandparents left the tailoring business in the hands of one of their sons who had a knack for business (and was the only sibling born in the US and a WWII veteran - the rest were born in London) but he ended up dying young of a heart attack with no will. The entire business went to his wife and she ran it then left it to her children, who were my father's first cousins. This made my father's father, aunts and uncles very upset because they had no claim to the family business. When the uncle's kids sold the business they made a fortune. So both of my parents came from means but were screwed out of it in one way or another. 

3 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

My mother used to make things like knitted suits @shapeshifter.  I have some great vintage knitting books from the '40s and '50s, where they have the most wonderful suit patterns, but it would take about five years to knit one of the skirts.  They're in super fine-gauge yarns and they are quite long and have a bazillion stitches.   I love the styling of the jackets. 

I have some of those books too, they were my mom's. She made me a lot of sweaters and such. A word comes to mind - Spinnerin!

[EtheltoTillie]

I'll see your Spinnerin and raise you Cravenella.

Edited Monday at 08:03 PM by EtheltoTillie

[annzeepark914]

55 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I'll see your Spinnerin and raise you Cravenella.

Wut? 🥴

[lookeyloo]

My mother was a fabulous knitter.  I have a lot of the things she made, although don't use them.  Especially things for my babies, nearly 60 years ago.  No one wants them.  They would be pitched in a donation place.  I have them in a nice box and told Mr lookeyloo that they bring me comfort and after I am gone I won't know what happens to them.  Really, no one wants them.  She also did some needlepoint and I have some of that.  My aunt sewed (I have the treadle machine that was my grandpa's that she made a lot of things and many for me) and she crocheted.  She also did a very complicated cross stitch of a vase of roses that I had framed when I got married the first time and it is hanging in this house.  That will go to my cousin, her son, one day.  He has daughters who might or might not appreciate it.  I cannot master crochet.  I sew and now quilt.  I like making them.  The entire process.  That a quilt emerges is just the byproduct of the activity.  I also have made Halloween costumes for the grands when they were little.

[SoMuchTV]

A heads up for anyone who's not following the Site Business area - big new things a-comin'

 

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Wut? 🥴

Yarn companies.

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

My mother was a fabulous knitter.  I have a lot of the things she made, although don't use them.  Especially things for my babies, nearly 60 years ago.  No one wants them.  They would be pitched in a donation place.  I have them in a nice box and told Mr lookeyloo that they bring me comfort and after I am gone I won't know what happens to them.  Really, no one wants them.  She also did some needlepoint and I have some of that.  My aunt sewed (I have the treadle machine that was my grandpa's that she made a lot of things and many for me) and she crocheted.  She also did a very complicated cross stitch of a vase of roses that I had framed when I got married the first time and it is hanging in this house.  That will go to my cousin, her son, one day.  He has daughters who might or might not appreciate it.  I cannot master crochet.  I sew and now quilt.  I like making them.  The entire process.  That a quilt emerges is just the byproduct of the activity.  I also have made Halloween costumes for the grands when they were little.

I have a box of baby clothing my mother made for me that I found in my parents' apartment when I was cleaning it out. It has a few knitted and crocheted items in it. It's one of my treasures. Her whole family was very artistic and talented in many different ways. I'm pretty artistic in a few ways just not for sewing, unfortunately.

[shapeshifter]

5 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

…whole family was very artistic and talented in many different ways. I'm pretty artistic in a few ways just not for sewing, unfortunately.

I learned to knit and crochet, but preferred sewing because I was more about the results than the process.

3 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

I sew and now quilt.  I like making them.  The entire process.  That a quilt emerges is just the byproduct of the activity.…

I only made 2 quilts. There is a *lot* of process to making a quilt. 

 

[EtheltoTillie]

7 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

I learned to knit and crochet, but preferred sewing because I was more about the results than the process.

I only made 2 quilts. There is a *lot* of process to making a quilt. 

 

Although I sew garments (and knit and crochet), I have never made quilts. It’s a special knack to choosing the colors and making the patterns pop. Your art background probably helped, but even so I see you didn’t stick with it. I’d be curious to hear more about how you view the process. 

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

A heads up for anyone who's not following the Site Business area - big new things a-comin'

 

Is it only me? I worry about this. Every time this place gets updated things go a little sideways for a while. I'm not looking forward to it. I only just got comfortable with this software and now it's changing again. And with what's going on in my personal life I don't need this right now. Ugh.

[chitowngirl]

22 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Is it only me? I worry about this. Every time this place gets updated things go a little sideways for a while. I'm not looking forward to it. I only just got comfortable with this software and now it's changing again. And with what's going on in my personal life I don't need this right now. Ugh.

I feel the same way…OTOH, if the update will stop the site from constantly reloading while I’m reading it, that would be swell!

[Bastet]

Every time there's a big change, I am thoroughly annoyed and confused by how to get my home page the way I want it, figure it out, and then forget how it used to be before the big change.  So I'll adapt again, but, yeah, not looking forward to it.  I usually don't find the site any better after they change it, so I'd rather not have to undergo the transition period, but I usually don't find it any worse, either (once the kinks are worked out).

[annzeepark914]

Hoo boy. Well...very glad to have this forum so, 🤞🍀🙏👀

[roseha]

I hate to be that person but 

"embiggening"???

Otherwise I just hope all my shows don't disappear on me.

Edited Tuesday at 03:19 AM by roseha

[emma675]

1 hour ago, roseha said:

I hate to be that person but 

"embiggening"???

"Embiggen" has actually been added to the US dictionary, but it was created on The Simpsons years ago. Stupid, random fact that my brain remembers (and I guess it finally paid off, haha).

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, roseha said:

Otherwise I just hope all my shows don't disappear on me.

I fear the loss of some convenient functions and the addition of others that I don't want or need. I'm just tired of apps and software updating all the time making me waste time learning how to use them and then I don't even get any improvement out of it. In many cases it feels like a step backwards.

[Soapy Goddess]

4 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Is it only me? I worry about this. Every time this place gets updated things go a little sideways for a while. I'm not looking forward to it. I only just got comfortable with this software and now it's changing again. And with what's going on in my personal life I don't need this right now. Ugh.

Totally agree. I just hope there's a place for ALL of us. That would be a giant improvement in the name of humanity. And to think I just learned how to do a multiple reply (thank you, btw 😊)  

[CM-BlueButterfly]

Hi everyone, 

just chiming in with a couple of things regarding the upgrade: I absolutely get your reservations. I'm not a fan of change either. (If it were up to me, I'd still be using Windows 7 😉)

Invision (the software Primetimer uses) came out with a new version. While not immediately, they'll seize supporting the version we're currently using and we were also informed that several things were improved software-wise. (How much we'll notice as a user, I don't know). 

I've seen the dev site, and I didn't find it too different. The topics themselves look largely the same and the changes didn't strike me as anywhere near as significant as they were the last time the look was overhauled (or as they were between Windows 7 and 8/8.1).

As far as navigation is concerned, we've included a few features that were brought to our attention but there'll still be a My Shows pages and we kept the colors. If memory serves, a couple of things can now be accessed easier, meaning, with fewer clicks and a couple of other things have been changed so that they're member optional - at least, that was the plan. I don't know how much of that will be ready at launch. But overall, you get to where you want to in much of the same way. 🙂

The few times that I saw it, I liked it. I felt the changes that were made, and the added features, make sense. I can't say that I felt the same previously. 

[Bastet]

12 hours ago, CM-BlueButterfly said:

(If it were up to me, I'd still be using Windows 7 😉)

I am still using Windows 7, and I miss Windows XP.  So, yeah, I'm resistant to change, and I loathe change for the sake of change (which is what so many technology updates read as for me, although much more at Microsoft than here), but, as I said, I adapt and in short order forget how the old way I missed so much when it was initially replaced used to function; I, for how I use the site, generally don't see a benefit from the change, but I forget all about the old version once I get into the new groove with the new one.  It is what it is, and I'll adapt, but those of us who've been here a long time do remember all the "Sorry, yeah, X, Y, and Z are borked due to the upgrade, but will be fixed" issues that follow every single upgrade and prepare accordingly.

Edited Tuesday at 07:17 PM by Bastet

[CM-BlueButterfly]

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

I am still using Windows 7,

I didn't know it was still supported. (But I remember I needed a new laptop shortly after 8.1 came out, so, I couldn't have kept it anyway). 

 

2 minutes ago, Bastet said:

 It is what it is, and I'll adapt, but those of us who've been here a long time do remember all the "Sorry, yeah, X, Y, and Z are borked due to the upgrade, but will be fixed" issues that follow every single upgrade and prepare accordingly.

I hear you!
Not that it makes the problem go away, however, from what I understand that's due to the server and the many, many forums we have. After an upgrade, the site just stumbles when reloading. 
In some conversations that I've had with AllAstronauts, they've said that this or that will be better with the new version. I don't know how that translates but some of the issues might go away. 🤞

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, CM-BlueButterfly said:

I didn't know it was still supported.

It's not, but it still functions.  That will change, sadly.

[Anduin]

5 hours ago, roseha said:

I hate to be that person but 

"embiggening"???

Otherwise I just hope all my shows don't disappear on me.

It's a perfectly cromulent word.

[Caoimhe]

9 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Although I sew garments (and knit and crochet), I have never made quilts. It’s a special knack to choosing the colors and making the patterns pop. 

I’ve made a LOT of quilts, been doing it for more than 25 years, and I often rely on pattern images and sometimes kits to get the colours right. For me the “technical” bits are what I enjoy more than the creative / design parts. Machine embroidery and quilting are a lot of fun! I’ve been working on an English Paper Piecing quilt for a couple of years (hand piecing is slow) and I have never liked some of the fabrics I have in it. I’ll finish just because the hand sewing process is calming and meditative which I need a lot right now but will not keep the finished quilt. It’s garish and has lime green / purple fabrics with stripes and huge polka dots which I really hate. Unfortunately I bought the pattern designer’s fabric and restricted myself to using it and discovered her aesthetic isn’t my idea of “pretty”.

We used to stay in AirBnB all the time when we went home! It was wonderful and I still am annoyed it’s no longer an option (unless you want a room with the owners there too). The hotel doesn’t give me the option of getting up and making a coffee without disturbing my husband - he sleeps fine away from home and I never do. I can’t relax on a sofa and watch television all day while he’s out golfing. But until I convince him we need an apartment of our own there to use when we visit that won’t change. We had an arrangement with one woman in particular whose son owned the place, he and his family live in the US and used it when they visited. She rented it outside of AirBnB to others like us who were visiting home from abroad but when Covid came that ended. 

[lookeyloo]

12 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

only made 2 quilts. There is a *lot* of process to making a quilt. 

You are right!  But it is the process I enjoy. I quilt for my own enjoyment and never have a deadline and like every step. I am not good at every step but I like it anyway. 

[fastiller]

4 hours ago, Caoimhe said:

We used to stay in AirBnB all the time when we went home! It was wonderful and I still am annoyed it’s no longer an option (unless you want a room with the owners there too). The hotel doesn’t give me the option of getting up and making a coffee without disturbing my husband - he sleeps fine away from home and I never do. I can’t relax on a sofa and watch television all day while he’s out golfing. But until I convince him we need an apartment of our own there to use when we visit that won’t change. We had an arrangement with one woman in particular whose son owned the place, he and his family live in the US and used it when they visited. She rented it outside of AirBnB to others like us who were visiting home from abroad but when Covid came that ended. 

Where is 'home' (if you care to answer)?  Based solely upon your user name I'm guessing Ireland.  My friend's Mum used to let out half of her own home (it was closed off from her living area) in Waterford thru Shamrock Cottages.  My friend did most of the admin and housekeeping.  Her Mum is now needing care so it looks like they're no longer doing this.   It's a lovely property, with a river running thru, and right near the Dungarvan Greenway.  My 'win the mega lottery' fantasy includes buying property in Dungarvan and a flat in/near Dublin. 

Edited Tuesday at 02:45 PM by fastiller

[SoMuchTV]

11 hours ago, roseha said:

I hate to be that person but 

"embiggening"???

Otherwise I just hope all my shows don't disappear on me.

I for one welcome our tech overlords using Simpsons references.

[Caoimhe]

1 hour ago, fastiller said:

Where is 'home' (if you care to answer)?  Based solely upon your user name I'm guessing Ireland. 

Yes, Dublin 😁 and I keep an eye on Daft for apartments in our home area. I know exactly where I want to buy - in the same place the AirBnBs we used to get, the house we sold was about a mile down the coast from there.

[shapeshifter]

18 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Although I sew garments (and knit and crochet), I have never made quilts. It’s a special knack to choosing the colors and making the patterns pop. Your art background probably helped, but even so I see you didn’t stick with it. I’d be curious to hear more about how you view the process. 

In comparison to drawing or painting, sewing in general takes a lot of concentration (to not make mistakes that require a lot of time and effort to correct) and a lot of planning and commitment to the original vision (unless you want to redo a *lot*).
I imagine mosaic and stained glass are like sewing that way. 
Of the 2 quilts, I still have this one, but some of the colors are terribly faded, I think because I bleached it to within an inch of its life when my daughter had impetigo. I found some scraps of the original fabric; they are to the left in the picture. The top row unicorn and bottom row seal were that dark blue print of which there is just a scrap next to the bottom snowflake.
 

[EtheltoTillie]

3 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

In comparison to drawing or painting, sewing in general takes a lot of concentration (to not make mistakes that require a lot of time and effort to correct) and a lot of planning and commitment to the original vision (unless you want to redo a *lot*).
I imagine mosaic and stained glass are like sewing that way. 
Of the 2 quilts, I still have this one, but some of the colors are terribly faded, I think because I bleached it to within an inch of its life when my daughter had impetigo. I found some scraps of the original fabric; they are to the left in the picture. The top row unicorn and bottom row seal were that dark blue print of which there is just a scrap next to the bottom snowflake.
 

So happy you found this to show us.  What a beautiful work.  Applique is really hard to stitch.  But you really were able to coordinate your colors well.

[Fool to cry]

Related to something I posted earlier if I see a woman in her 30s and her 5 year old daughter on the street, the odds of them having the exact same hairstyle are very high and they have been for the past 25 years. It would have been lower in the 90s and practically close to zero in the 80s, 70s, 60s, 50s, etc.

Edited 15 hours ago by Fool to cry

[annzeepark914]

10 hours ago, Fool to cry said:

Related to something I posted earlier if I see a woman in her 30s and her 5 year old daughter on the street, the odds of them having the exact same hairstyle are very high and they have been for the past 25 years. It would have been lower in the 90s and practically close to zero in the 80s, 70s, 60s, 50s, etc.

😯 I've never noticed anything like this (& this is really strange!) I'll have to pay more attention now.