The Demise of Dainty

Friends, whatever happened to dainty?

I am talking about the word dainty, used not to describe a porcelain tea set, but rather to describe women and all things female.

Dress Silhouettes Gone Wrong + POLL!

 

Readers, do you believe in objective truth?  Do some ideas live in the universal mind and transcend both history and geography?  Are some concepts simply not up for discussion? 

More on Color Forecasting, etc.

Friends, I know you're eager to continue yesterday's discussion about Tangerine Tango, not to be confused with Clementine Clog Step,  Satsuma Slide, or Kumquat Gavotte.

The Wacky World of Color Forecasting

Before I get started, why does current fashion illustration make women look like Bratz dolls?  I don't like it one bit.

Moving right along...

Friends, how much do you know about color forecasting?  I don't know much, but you'd have to live on Mars not to have heard that Pantone's official Color of the Year for 2012 is Tangerine Tango, aka orange.  (You can read more about it here.)  I hate to sound grumpy -- I am still recovering from my weekend cold -- but I was "over" that color ten seconds after seeing it; to me it screams Guantanamo Bay prisoner jumpsuits. 

On "Famous Frocks" and sewing books in general

Friends, I'm happy to report that I'm feeling much better and was able to make it to the library yesterday, where I happened upon a copy of the new sewing book Famous Frocks by Sara Alm and Hannah McDevitt.  Are you familiar with it?

Feed a Cold, Starve a Fever?

Friends, I am back from a very intense, thankfully short, bout with something I'm guessing was Influenza.  It came on rapidly Saturday evening and within 3-4 hours I could hardly lift my head off the pillow.  I'm a big believer in letting fever do its thing (unless you have other medical problems or are a small child or elder) and now, roughly 36 hours later, I'm 85% of the way back.  Was this a cold, a flu, something else entirely?  Who knows.  Suffice it to say I'm glad to be vertical once again and not shivering under three blankets, a ski cap, and a heavy fleece.

Random thoughts about aging, etc.

Readers, occasionally I have random thoughts about various topics, none of which warrant a blog post all their own, or which I might flesh out sometime in the future -- or maybe one of you would like to develop one of them on your own blog; feel free.  So here goes:

At the library yesterday, I passed a display of Suzanne Somers' latest diet/health book, Sexy Forever.  And I found myself wondering: sexy....forever?  Is that the new benchmark for health and happiness in the Twenty-First Century?  I'm exhausted and I haven't even read the preface!

Practical Sewing vs. "Fantasy" Sewing

So I was thinking about Debbie's panties last night...

Wait.  Let me explain:

The Ditching Begins (again) + Which Sewing Machine Goes?

Greetings, born-again declutterers!

We are starting the new year right here at MPB, digging through the detritus and dumping, dumping, DUMPING.  As you know, my energy for these kinds of purges isn't always there, so when it is, the best bet is to ride if for all it's worth.

New Rules & Resolutions for 2012

Happy 2012, everybody, and welcome to my first entry of the new year!

I am not a fan of making New Year's resolutions, readers, because, with rapidly accumulating life experience behind me, I now recognize that most of us (all of us?) fail at making ourselves do things we don't like to do.  The trick to changing behavior is truly to want to do it (and not just want to want), and if you already want to do it, you shouldn't have any difficulty doing so.

Behold the Refinished Featherweight Table!

Friends, I simply couldn't wait till 2012 to show you my refinished Singer Featherweight table, which I fished out of the trash only one week ago.  Ready?

Peter's Best and Worst of 2011!

Friends, I'm not a big fan of year-end wrap-ups.  I mean, are our memories so short that we need to be reminded of what just happened?  I had something else to say about this, but I forgot it...

Let's talk about sewing!

Peter Strips!

Readers, I hope you're not disappointed but I will not be disrobing today.  I will, however, be finishing my featherweight table, otherwise known as Miracle on 24th St.

Featherweight Table Makeover -- and so much more!

Isn't this an amazing transformation, readers?  Wow!

Unfortunately, this Featherweight table is not the one Santa left for me in the street last weekend, but rather belongs to MPB reader Wayne of Florida, who restored it himself.  This pic shows the table before he applied polyurethane, but it looks fantastic to me as is (the blue tape is simply to keep the black enamel paint applied to the sides off the top).

A Sewing Machine as a Gift -- Yea or Nay?

Readers, I was both excited and troubled by a feature I saw in the most recent (January 2012) issue of Consumer Reports magazine.  Their annual "25 Great Gifts" list included -- are you sitting down? -- a sewing machine!