Mega Flare! A Final Fantasy Big Bang

I did end up going out yesterday evening, bc some friends were in town unexpectedly and we went for dinner! One half of the couple has been my daily screaming partner (about fandom-related things, we are having the best time) and I had some things to bring to the other, obviously I said yes. I did check transit options, which were limited. Alas. I lost my great parking spot but I did find one halfway down the street, which could have been worse. This morning I walked out and there were only a few locals still parked, lots of empty spots.

I did get groceries on my way home, which was nice to have REAL food in the house again (not just carbs and a couple of onions lol) I successfully resisted the call of delivery and made chicken strips and fries since it wasn't 8 million degrees out.

Saturday morning I woke up FIRED UP about sewing. I opened one (1) box that had been newly discovered (several weeks ago) in the closet and lo!! There was the fabric I wanted. It is deeeeeep stash; I've had it for 20 years and I got it from my great aunt and who knows how long she had it. It was 34" wide and I had 4.5 yards of it. More than enough to make the blouse I wanted to make last week. Past!Me had washed it at some point, so I had to iron* it first, which I got plenty of help from the kittens. I thought they were sleepy enough for me to start but no. I only made it to the bathroom first before anything else and they were both trailing me curiously.

*Did y'all see or hear about the discourse about pressing seams or ironing fabric that happened recently? Someone's hot take was that pressing wasn't necessary, people started in with "uh it sure HELPS though" and tempers flared. My love was in the hot seat for a bit as someone singled her out for being CLASSIST bc not everyone (specifically ultra poor homeless folks who are apparently sewing clothing whole-cloth) can afford an iron, not even thrift store or $7 at Walmart irons!!!!! And then it kinda blew up and other people got into it and that someone was a lot politer to them than my love and jesus fucking christ it was a mess. Of course I thought about it as I pressed my fabric.

Anyway, I got my blouse cut out, the 34" width was perfect for cutting the front and most of the smaller pieces out of the full width, and then the half-width got the back and collars done. I was about halfway finished when my friend dropped 17k of her GORGEOUS fanfic so I made lunch and settled in to read. After a nap I made dinner and then sewed a little bit more, although it was after 8PM and I currently have only one working sewing machine light which was in the other machine, so I didn't get too wild. Sewed the collar and put it on, then sewed the side seams and called it a night.

Next day was sleeves, so I put those on, and the pattern includes a little oval shape as a sleeve support for some extra oomph. Last thing I did was hemming and marking buttons, which is all it needs now. Tried it on and hehehee it's so cute! It'll look great with my ~*~ designer ~*~ wool trousers and also with a few other pieces I have or am planning. Absolutely love it.

Also wrote a few fanfic pieces, to the tune of about 3k which is honestly a decent effort, especially when I haven't written anything significant in weeks. It's a lot of fun, which is what fanfic should be.

Tonight I really need to do laundry and will need to make myself dinner, and then I should get the other machine back out to put the buttonholes on. Then I can wear my new shirt!

Almost the weekend time, whoop whoop! I made it through the week with a big pot of rice and some stir fry, very happy to have $$ in my account again. But I am not driving anywhere this weekend bc there is a big event at the bottom of the hill and everyone drives in and parks on my street. So unless I want to lose it, Susan is staying put! Thankfully most of what I have planned (ie: nothing) I can do on transit. I'll pop to the store on my way home to pick up a few things and otherwise chill until Monday.

I would sincerely like to not get sucked into a cloud of "too many similar choices" and just end up playing video games all weekend again, so here are some ideas:

Dishes
Sew a thing or two
Knit
Cross stitch
Read a (library) book

I can do that, right?

Yeaaaah guess how much sewing happened on the weekend. If you guessed "none" you'd be wrong, but it wasn't for lack of effort! I hemmed the nautical dress and stitched up the strap for the tote I made last year. Turns out the grey fabric is cotton enough to withstand high heat bc it sure needed some to get the creases to stay. I did print out my pattern and put it together/trimmed it down. Had to try on the nautical dress to see if the fit decisions I made there were good (bust is too high, otherwise I like the fit of the shoulders) and used that to cut the pattern to size. I even laid out the tropical fabric to test the layout (not enough, I think) but I had "help" with it all so i didn't actually do much.

Add to that the 30C (85F) weather and the hottest room in the apartment (kitchen) and I did my best to avoid ever being in there. Ah well.

Movie was good, we enjoyed it! Our expectations were pretty low, I think; only the OG Jurassic Park is actually good. I remember mentioning it to Loud Coworker, who went on a loud rant about how she didn't like the Big Boss Dino and its 6 legs. I think she missed the point, that it was supposed to be uglier than Satan's asshole. Like that's how the movie opens, containment breach on their genetic hybrid, island abandoned and somehow self-contained and gas in the vehicle still viable after 17 years ok sure. I think Jonny Bailey should have kept his British accent, the American one is NOT IT. That would have improved his character. Also we are glad we did the fancy seats and the fancy theatre (aka a lil "booth" with walls) bc we could NOT shut up through the whole thing. Sorry other movie goers! I heard the people in the one next to us on my side laughing at one point, so hopefully we didn't carry too much.

Heat wave this week which means I have been doing very little besides existing lol. The insomnia wasn't helping. I've been enjoying the handful of sun-warmed raspberries from the canes I discovered near my apartment last week. Re-signed my lease the other day so it's time to get those dang curtains up. I started playing a grocery sorting game and I am literally addicted. The shiny will wear off soon, thankfully.

Got the mesh layer out of the pants, and then took the elastic from the waist too. It is about 3/8" wide and the PERFECT length for a waistband of some kind. I'll def be salvaging the green pair's innards too when it's time to toss those.

Long weekend woooo!! Kicking off the evening with Jurassic World with M. Tomorrow morning I NEED to go grocery shopping + cat litter/food.

I got my sewing project sorted bc this's month's Charm Patreon pattern is the perfect blouse. I won't be able to start it until tomorrow so I should have a little time to decide what fabric I want to use. Oooo I have ideas y'all :D First thought was a white ground with red dots and umbrellas, but then I thought of a black ground with tropical items on it, like macaws and pineapples. I think I'll do that because A: the machines are already threaded with black. B: It'll be a great top to wear with coloured bottoms, like my bright red skirt. Done!

I had a lovely evening laying in bed playing my silly little games, got up to eat and then returned, and finally around 10:45 my brain was tired enough to let itself turn off. I was so looking forward to that long 7 hours of unbroken, peaceful slumber.

Unfortunately, someone started making noise that sounded like they were trying to take the building down. I didn't put my glasses on to be nosy about it, but I THINK what happened was my new upstairs neighbour (on the 3rd floor) was having a big mad and stomping up and down the exterior (wooden, newly built last year) stairs and maybe kicking support posts? I'm not really sure. It made a low of noise, and then there was some Loud Angry Man Noises. It was 11:15pm. I'd dropped off just enough for my brain to reset and then I was awake until 2 something again, effectively making me awake for 24 hours.

BUDDY. This is not the vibe. Maybe it could have been someone else, but in almost 2 full years of living here, NO ONE has done what this asshole was doing.

As such I doubt tonight will be any better than last night. I need to do laundry and thankfully that is a low-energy task, mostly waiting around for the machines to be done. I also need to be creative with my dinner bc thankfully I had leftovers still for today, but no such luck tomorrow! (Actually I should just make the effort to prepare a sandwich and be done with it.)

Decided it was time to toss the pair of work pants I've been wearing that are ill fitting and also all the little snapped elastics in the fabric are really visible at the back seam. They have a mesh layer in front for tummy control or something, which I am going to salvage first nyahahaha. Even started that while the kittens were running up and down the front (enclosed) stairs, but black pants + black thread + my general tiredness means I will wait for better light + the general wherewithal to be patient.

Standing at the chair-drobe this am lamenting the lack of work-appropriate shirts to wear. Guess I better bump a few of those up the list too.