Strike one...

...project off the list, because it's done!


Not too awful long ago, I posted a picture of some fabric I got on the cheap.
Here's a reminder.


Since then I've been working on various projects, like "The Jeans Skirt" and "The Black Shirt." The black shirt is still on hold, for reasons I don't quite understand. It'll be cute when it's done, I just have to sit down and do it. In the mean time, other, easier projects have appeared as if out of nowhere (read: a combination of more cheap fabric and 2 new editions of the magazine I sew from) and the shirt has been moved down the list of things to make. It'll get done, I'm sure, sometime, and before July comes by. I promise.

Anyway, one of those in-betweeny projects was a skirt to go camping with. As I left Texas mid-winter, I didn't really pack any summer clothes, (wrongly) hoping I'd be back before summer. Not. This means I often despair at the clothes I do have here, especially when they scream "It's winter, it's cold, wear us" at me when it's clearly not winter out there and I definitely don't want to wear them at all. I can work around this, combine, make new things to add to the collection, but now there's a teensy weensy little issue with next week.

The Girls Weekend Out is coming up, and for the first year ever, we're going camping. Hurray!

But all my camping hiking gear (except for the boots) are somewhere in a storage bin under my bed in Texas. Not very useful when Texas is in fact about 5000 miles away. So I've been thinking of what to pack, and I've got it pretty much figured out as far as clothes are concerned.

Imagine the unimaginable, and imagine it'll be warm next weekend? Therefore, I made me this:



It'll do me just fine, I should think.



Now. On to the next project.

Friday came around again...

... and we were out of work, got a load in, worked hard and were out of work again. We seem to be getting something wrong here, but not quite up to dealing with Co-worker A's fav colour/actor/movie/tv show/sport all day long, so working hard is a very good alternative.

I think I might take bets on how long it will take for me to pull off an intervention that wouldn't look bad in any classroom for the under 12's.

Co-worker B is still yanking A's chain(s) throughout the day, and A is getting riled up about it for about the same period of time. Seriously, it's like working with kids without being able to pull my usual tricks to get kids in line again. I'm really not sure how they will react to being sent to their respective corners "to think about what they did wrong". Mind you, the message would get across, but surely I shouldn't need to with these 25+ adults. Let me sketch you the scene of today.

I came in at my usual time this morning, while everyone else had apparently planned to come in early. This meant that A, B and eventually C were already at their desk when I got there. C seemed relieved, and after a few minutes (coffee in hand) I understood perfectly well. A and B had been at it for as long as she was there, and probably longer. It's like cats and dogs, I feel I should get me a whistle or something.

B is obviously playing with A, trying to find her breaking point, which really can't be all that far off. He publicly re-named her Chief Nitpicker, as she just can't stop herself from constantly correcting people's expression, grammar and even which syllable they stress. It's getting very hard not to just burst out laughing at him as he's subtly making her spew her (in-)correct little wisdoms for all to hear. I think this last re-naming got close to her breaking point, since she looked as if she didn't know if she should burst out laughing or run away crying. In the end she grinned and soon excused herself to the bathroom 'to collect herself.' It's getting a little painful to witness, but there's no stopping her. Or him, for that matter. Every once in a while some genuine irritation creeps into his voice.

The bubble will burst, but when? And how?

Guess the when and the how and you will receive a marvelous prize of something orange, yellow and cream. Easy to pin on and brighten up whatever you stick it on.


Enough!!!!!

It's Friday, and there's a fresh new weekend ahead. I started it off earlier, getting completely soaked on the way home. It was dry, and then it rained, and I cycled home. And then it dried up. Jeans aren't great for rain-stoppage, but we all know that. Neither is the leather jacked, nor the white booties. That was unexpected. So now I'm in my comfy black and blobs dress, made from this:



Unfortunately I didn't have therapy this week, as Jody is sick again (quite literally) so next appointment is on Monday evening. Both shoulders seem done with computers for the day, so here's to hoping sewing will be ok still. Working on a skirt for camping next week.

While on the subject of camping, we might be in car-packing-space luck next week, but more on that later. When we know where to go and what to take.

I feel creative. I must go and abuse the moment. Byeeeee!



PS. Will have some more yarn in 2 weeks. Can't wait.
PPS. Bookclub book #2 progressing slowly. Could've used another round of editing and be 1/3 shorter, surely. Story not bad, just the editing, mostly.

Dear Lord, I gone 'n dunnit agin...

... though not to worry, I didn't just buy more fabric, I did pretty things with some I got earlier.




I do apologize for the general crappiness of the images, but my old friend point-and-shoot camera now only takes 4 pictures on full batteries and refuses to turn on after that. And the charged batteries are 2 flights of stairs away from me, and I just can't be bothered to go get them. I already took my after-dinner-nap, you see?

Anyway, did you behold the pretty bad image of the pretty cute jeans skirt? It's very pretty, and it fits me as well! It took some hard work and some muttered swearing because the fabric is so tough, you can stand the skirt up without too much effort, just by itself. That makes me a little apprehensive for its first washing, but we'll see. It's about knee-length, before you ask, and that odd looking curve is the bottom of top-layer of the front skirt. It's one of my better projects so far, I really like how the fancy stitching worked out. Might wear it to work tomorrow, but then again, I might not, therapy late afternoon does not co-exist with skirts very well.

Now that there is a great gaping hole in my stash from the used jeans, I had a chance to go by market this morning, as we had to attend a meeting in the down-town building of UWV. I still don't quite get what we were supposed to take out of it, but I suppose being in the know about the numbers that mean very little to me is going to make me feel part of the UWV-Uitkeren family. Not really, not until they offer me a contract and take me away from the mean people at Randstad. Long story short, I had the chance to go by Grumpy Man on the market, and bought me some new stuffs. It's pretty too, but I worry about my pre-occupation with jersey these days. Bought some more black with pretty colours a few weeks back, as well as some leather for the hubby, who immediately planned to use it in the car. Not what I had planned, but there you go I suppose. Anyway, here they are.




I did already mention the "Therapy" word. It was going pretty well, or so I thought, and so he thought. Right up until the moment I finished Scriptfrenzy and decided to celebrate with wine rather than that cup of tea. It was a national holiday after all. I put back the cork and screwed everything up. Should've finished the bottle, but there you go. Moderation can be bad for you, don't you forget it. So now I'm thrown back a number of weeks, and getting pretty peed off with it. It hurt when I opened a closed door with my elbow. It hurt when I opened and opened door with my elbow. It hurt when I buttoned my pants this morning, and when I tried to close my belt. It hurt when I adjusted the panel of my jacket that got stuck behind the strap of my bag.

I must become a leftie for a number of weeks.

Which isn't working out very well so far. No coordination whatsoever, but I'm determined to move my computer mouse and try to relieve the arm that way. It's just not happy in general, feeling stiffer than before, and still doing that awkward and painful popping every once in a while. Mr. Torturer told me we have 6 months to work it out this way, which is absolutely doable, before we're going to take "different steps". Different Steps aren't any good. They're bad. Must practise more and more often. In fact, as soon as I'm done here, I will.

Last but not least a special message for Heidi and Nell.

Crunches hurt, but working hard. Belly sore, but will persist. Must not be chubby next week!

There's a hole in my hand...

... when it comes to buying cheap fabric. I think I'm going a little OTT at the moment. But, it's still much cheaper than buying my own clothes, so I'm actually saving money, right?



That ^^ is the current collection of un-used fabric bought recently (besides the blue/white flower knit which I'm sure I posted somewhere) and some more black. Of course, this does not include unfinished shirt and skirt. Or any of the yarn I dug up from somewhere.

I've started in my BCB #1 and after struggling through the 'Definitive Author's Introduction' and 18 pages into the actual story, I think I'll come to the conclusion that the man has a really nice editor who never got a chance to do anything about the intro, but did a damn good job on the story itself. So far so good then, reading this 'SciFi'. It's not too bad.

In good news, the flowers on my flowerdy cactus are flowering!



Oh, and in other good news, the Monday-interview was a bit of a downer. Nice people, nice talk but both of us were a little uncertain of the 'Why' of my being there. I blame them. They asked me to come. Not time wasted as I picked up a few hints. Thankfully, they didn't pick me, so I didn't have to think about accepting or not. I realize this doesn't really sound like good news, but Randstad called back a few hours later, almost offering me a job with UWV. They get to send 6 people, no interview, full time until at least the end of the year, starting next Tuesday. Tomorrow they decide who to send, but according to her, I stand a decently good chance to be picked as part of the 'Randstad 6'. Just so we sound a bit dangerous and cool. And not like the unemployed losers that we are ;) I'm quite excited about that, so I'll take that to be a good omen. Which also happens to be a great book, if you add an 's' to the end.

Anyway, best be back to not writing for Scriptfrenzy. Still at 3 pages, like I was at the end of day 1. Seriously, what's wring with me? Could've been done by now.

Also, no news on the Frankfurt Nintendo job, so guessing nothing's come of that. Oh well, you lose some, you lose some.

It didn't really rain today, my flowers are out (cute!) and I managed to score some more fabric. All in all a good day so far.