How Was Your Day Dear?

Prior to today my only experience of working in a commercial environment was my Dad's solicitor firm. My business surroundings since then have been charities - not-for-profit organisations with Members who needed servicing and usually a magazine published monthly and maybe a small finance department.

Today, I entered the world of San Franciscan Tech Start-Ups.

In my old work environment you were given a second hand computer when you arrived. It would be a desktop with a big, heavy hard drive under the desk. There were "office" laptops and if you needed one you had to sign it out. If you were lucky one of the newer ones was available, otherwise you ended up with one like a breeze block. Only the CEO had their own laptop, and that would be a generic thing not a Sony or Mac. Now as I sat down at my new desk my boss was trying to wipe the Mac Book Air given to my predecessor, who only used it for two weeks. "It's not working" she said "so just take one of those." Gesturing behind her she pointed to a stack of brand new Mac Books still in their wrappers. The lady to my left noticed the stack and said "Oh, I need a new one too." "Ok." said my boss "Go ahead and take one."

"You'll need a notepad too." said my boss. OK, I said, expecting a stationary cupboard. In my previous job, when someone left, the used pages of their notepads were torn out and the unused portion left for the new person to use.

She handed me my A5 Moleskin notepad with the company logo embossed, not just printed, on the front - individually shrink wrapped.

"What would you like for lunch?" my boss asked me. "Oh is it it office lunch today?" I asked with trepidation - remembering the set-lunch-A that 'catering' used to provide at my old work. "On Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays you use this link to order whatever you want from local places and a company picks it all up and delivers it here for you." I looked at the link - it was restaurant type food. "On Wednesdays and Thursdays we order a load of stuff from local places so we might have Mexican or Chinese - tomorrow is Mexican." My head whirls slightly as I realise I'll never have to buy lunch for as long as I work here. Looking at the kitchen I can see a huge fridge full of every kind of juice and soda and on all the shelves are endless (mostly) healthy snacks - including two different dried fruits covered in chocolate. 

It's not quite Google, but there are exercise balls to sit on in lieu of chairs,(should you wish) several designer chairs for cuddling up in with just you and your laptop, plus an actual freaking hammock. 

Tomorrow there's a free company happy hour in a nearby bar. I am truly working for a tech start-up.

Filling Up On Cats

With my new job starting any minute now, I knew my visit to the Cat Town Cafe in Oakland last week might have to last me a little while. My visit started memorably when my Uber driver asked if it was ok if he came in with me to have a look since he was intrigued by the idea and had never heard of the area's speciality coffee house. He departed after grabbing a cup and I was left to enjoy the cats.

The sleeping guy above had the cutest pink nose and little black paw pads.

Is it bad to objectify cats like that? By commenting on their extremities? Meanwhile in the quiet room there was a lot of cuddling going on.

The little stripy guy above was adorable and stretched out so I could stroke his stomach as well. Then there was one cat who had just recently moved from the Shelter to the cafe who was still nervous.

He sat right at the back of the space so I slowly lent in to stroke him without spooking him. He wanted to be stroked and leaned in for it but then pulled back at the slightest noise. I really do think this place is amazing as some of the cats are feral and some have been in Shelters for years and this place gives them a chance to socialise and get used to interacting with people with a view to getting them adopted. And is it working?

Stone Cold Steve Austin would definitely be giving out a "Hell Yeah" in answer to that one (WWE reference). I long for the day when I can be one of the adopters!

Making and Changing

I finally finished my second Hands2Help quilt. My usual allergy to straight lines shows in the finish.

I made use of some of the flowery stitches on my sewing machine when adding the strips.

I added them to cover the joins because I used the block method I had always known about in general terms but which was gone into in more detail in the Craftsy course.

The other patchwork I have been doing is some of the Lucy Boston Patchwork of the Crosses blocks. I am in the second year of a Bee for this and during my two months as 'Queen Bee' and through my own stitching I am up to forty! (I've done an extra one since taking this photo).

The time has come to start the inbetween pieces that join them together. I've decided on kona white cotton just to keep it simple and I'll be using extra pieces of the red and whites I've and others have used as the squares between them.

I was due to give my ickle niece this height chart for her birthday, two weeks ago. Ahem.

There is just the miniature metal coat hanger to add to the top end. It gave me a chance to have a good rummage through my button collection.

I do adore chain stitch. It's very satisfying to do and the finished design stands out from the fabric beautifully. I used it for the red in the height chart and again on this t-shirt-in-progress.

My white fabric marker had run out so I used circles of freezer paper as templates. I ironed them in place and then embroidered around them. They just peel off afterwards.

The big change coming to my life is that I have a job! From Tuesday I will be a full-time Executive Assistant to the CEO of a tech company. The good news is that it is only 20 minutes walk from the flat but the bad news is that I will now have 40-50 hours less crafting time each week. The job came up on Wednesday this week and I'll start on Tuesday so it has all happened very quickly. I told my sister and she asked me whether I was getting any new clothes for work. I held up the button t-shirt above and she groaned. When it comes to fashion I am a great disappointment to her - to such an extent that she has started a Pinterest Board for me to refer to when I next go shopping!

Exploring Treasure Island

The Treasure Island Flea Market is a well known event here in SF and this weekend was the fourth anniversary one. I had been meaning to go since we arrived here so thought today was as good a time as any. Slightly better in fact - Pooch rather over exerted himself the previous night and was groaning in bed and there's only so long that remains amusing for.

Treasure Island is in the middle of the two halves of the Bay Bridge and a has a smattering of houses but during the last weekend of the month people and cars flock in in their thousands just for the Flea. The emphasis is on handmade things and twentieth century schmatter.

As well as the stalls there was a big food truck area with about twenty different trucks.

There was a lovely view while I scoffed down my whateveritwas.

Then back into the fray.

One of the things that did tempt me was a Virgin Mark bust.

But I was slightly put off when I realised that that is an ornate leather gun holster they are arranged among. Plus I didn't get "a feeling of joy" when I picked each one up - something not attributed to holy-poly but more to "The Life Changing Magic of Tidying-Up" which I have been listening to recently as an audio book. Very interesting stuff. The only things that did come back with me, which I do find very joyful, were some little succulents from this stall.

I have some crafty updates to share tomorrow and also some big news that will seriously curtail my crafting time. So I had better go and get on with it while I can!

And Now For Something Completely Different

I am not a cosplayer. Except for this one time a few months ago for a party...

However, I am known as a stitcher. The Burning Man's French Quarter Collective has me involved in their sewing group and various discussions have seen me turn this...

...into this.

I am not sure how much of the theme is being made public before time so suffice to say there is a Regency style to the clothing. I am busily finishing a tutorial on how to do it yourself including a no-sew option for those who prefer good ol'glue.

The original coat was $11 in a thrift shop plus about $6 for two packs of gold bias binding. I was wondering whether to do some more and sell them on Etsy but you never really know whether this stuff will sell. And how much should be charged? Being second hand the coat wasn't in A1 condition to start with - more like B2 - but it is definitely good enough for a couple of weeks in the desert. It gets very cold at night, so they tell me.

Machine Quilting Practice

I happened across this pin the other day:

It was one of those moments when you see something - especially something that would look fairly ridiculous to the uninitiated - and think "bugger me, that's a good idea". I had recently attempted to enter the world of freehand machine quilting and the results had not been stunning. It's all very well to practice doodling but the motion with your hands when you're machine quilting are those shown in the pin - it's not like you're holding the needle at all. That pin leads to this website which offers one of these gadgets for $39 which is not a bad price but I thought I could possibly do one with plumbing supplies. PVC pipe and two elbows, I thought, having just looked up what those things that aren't really called "pipe bends" are called. Not knowing where to get plumbing supplies from in person I set off for Scrap - confident they would be able to do me right.

It is a strange sensation, to be wandering around a warehouse of scrap, looking for something that either is or could be used as "bends". In the end I found these.

I *think* the fatal looking things are something to do with firing ceramics - holding the item up off the kiln shelf while it bakes. Those little spikes were certainly sharp. The tube is cardboard. A glue gun later and...

I added extra glue to the little spikes to make them less tetanus-y. Plus some more to the two feet of the ceramic things to give them some grip on the table top. I then taped a biro to the middle and ta da!

As you can see from the paper, there has been no instant improvement, although actually I have gained confidence and I have improved in my latest batch of squares.

Yeah, you can really see the quilting in that photo. You'll just have to take my word for it.

The quilt itself  is for the Hands2Help initiative and the deadline for the drive is rapidly approaching. I'm using the method covered in the Craftsy course I've taken where you make the units and them join them later with strips. It means you can go in for some heavy quilting without needing a Long Arm machine.

How to Dissect a Shirt to Reuse the Fabric

I have been planning a quilt using blue shirt fabric from thrifted men's shirts. I love the softness of the often well-worn 100% cotton shirts. I have also seen them used in memorial quilts - made from the clothes of a loved one who has passed away.

Since I have been doing this with a series of shirts I thought I'd write a tutorial on the dissection process.

First, a word on choosing your shirts. I am lucky because San Francisco has a number of cheap thrift stores so shirts can be easily had for $2-3, sometimes just 99 cents! My favourite thrift shop - Thrift Town - even has sales and daily discounts as well as a loyalty scheme! When faced with a selection of shirts...

• Make a beeline for the end of the display that has the long sleeved shirts in the largest sizes - a 3X shirt is going to give you more fabric than a XS.  
• Once you find a shirt you like the look of pull it clear of the rack and check the label to see what it is made of. You might be fine with a cotton/poly mix but usually for quilts you want 100% cotton. 
• Now check the armpits and front for staining. If the front has stains on you may want to just put it back straight away and move on. If it's one small stain and you really like the fabric then check the rest of the shirt for marks and as long as it is OK add it to your basket. Surprised I'm not telling you to check the collar and cuffs? We will be discarding them all together so don't worry about them - although if they are really nasty it's a good sign that you need to thoroughly check the rest for stains. 
• Next move on through the smaller sizes. If your thrift shop has separated them and you see a short-sleeved shirt you really like then go through the same process with them - but remember that short sleeves will give you roughly a FQ less fabric than long sleeves. 

When you get home, start off with giving the shirts a good wash with your usual detergent. Once they are dry it is up to you whether you want to iron them or not. I tend not to as the flat pieces of fabric are much easier to iron once you have them chopped up. Now we're ready to start!

• Lay your shirt out face up and hold your scissors firmly. Mine are spring-loaded so they open automatically. So much easier! Starting to the right of the button band, cut just to the right of the seam. 

• Keep cutting along this line until you reach the collar. Just before the first seam of the collar change direction and cut around this line.    

• Once you have cut around the base of the collar you will find yourself on the button side of the button band. Change direction again and cut down alongside the seam of the button band. 

• This will leave you with some of your first scraps to throw away or reuse as stuffing. As a button addict I can't let myself throw away buttons, even very plain white ones, so I use a seam ripper to take them all off. 

• Now move to the right side of the shirt and find the side seam. Start cutting just to the left of the seam. 

• When you reach the armhole, as with the collar, change direction and cut to the left of the armhole seam. If your armhole has staining, you should cut around it now. 

• When you get to the shoulder seam change direction again and cut just below it until you reach the neck. 

• You have almost finished your first piece but first there is that bottom seam. My shirt had some shaping to round the bottom of the shirt where the front and back join together. I cut around this. Other shirts may have straight bottom edges. 

• Once that bottom seam is off you have your first piece! You'll notice that I've left the pocket in place. I've seen a number of quilts - especially memory ones - that leave the pockets on as a feature. I rather like this idea so I've left mine but you can always unpick or cut around them if you have one on your shirt.  

• You can now repeat the steps above for the left front. On my shirt there was a small oil mark on this side so I marked that with a pin to make sure I didn't forget about it. 

• I cut it out leaving me with a small hole towards the bottom. 

• With both fronts dealt with return to the rest of the shirt and finish removing that right sleeve, continuing to cut to the left of the seam. 

• That will leave you with a complete sleeve and your first step is to tackle that seam around the top end. 

• Cut the seam off just to the right os the stitching. Once that is done start cutting to the right of the sleeve seam, all the way down to the cuff. You are going to throw the cuff away (they are usually very worn, as is the collar) so you can cut straight through it. 

• Cut down the side of the seam still attached and discard that. Next cut straight across the cuff and discard that too. 

• You can also cut around the cuff placket and discard that, saving the button. You may choose to keep it and sew it up to provide a more continuous length of fabric, using it as a design feature.

• The final piece to tackle is the back. The shoulder seams need removing, cutting just underneath them. 

• In some shirts the back piece is divided into a top and bottom section with the top being a double thickness. While this reduces the overall size of the back piece it results in an extra piece of fabric. Some shirts may have a pleat or several pleats in the lower of the back pieces, where it joins the top piece. If your shirt is like mine and has this divide in the back pieces, cut just underneath the seam, all the way across and across any pleats that might be there. 

• Cut just above the seam of this top section - it may feel like you are cutting through extra layers of fabric but don't worry about this. This will result in two separable pieces of fabric. 

• In a well made or older shirt you may need to pull away some seam allowance from between the two pieces - you can discard this. In my shirt there wasn't enough seam allowance to show so I just gave it a shake and few wisps fell out. One of the pieces may have a label attached. You could unpick this, or leave it there, but I tend to cut them out and keep them as a guide to which fabric comes from which shirt manufacturer. 

• This will leave you with just the bottom section of the back of the shirt which should now just need the bottom hem removing. If there were pleats then it is possible you may have a small seam to unpick in the centre of each pleat. 
• And there you go! You should now have a pile of fabric sections and a pile of scrap.

I hope you find this useful! Feel free to add it to Pinterest if you think you might need it in the future.