Swimwear help!

I command my servants to do the sewing for me. I just tell them what to do, using tips I pick up here.

Yeah, right. Pardon me while I don't quite believe that. The proper response when you don't understand an idiom is *not* to immediately assume that the person using is is sneering at you. That's what you did. Somebody said something you didn't understand, and you immediately assumed that we were sneering at you.

You just have no clue about real life, do you? Maybe some of the people you see in your local fabric stores are like that, but many of us are not.

I sewed work and interview clothes when I was in college, made work clothes for the first few years out of college. I paid my tuition and my rent, bought my bookd and my food, then bought fabric. I sewed after my homework was done. Sometimes I did finish work while I was working (receptionist in a dorm).

Now, I run my house, take care of my family, do all those nagging household things. After the kids are in bed, then I can sew. After all the other bills have been paid, then I can buy fabric.

And now there's this b/r/a/t/ girl coming along telling me that I'm "unfettered by the rudimentary demands of paying the rent or buying food". And she wonders why I'm offended. grrrr.

Note to tresa: There are people on this group who have survived things you can't even dream of. There are people on this group who have less discretionary income and time than you do. Stop trying to hand us that "poor poor pitiful me" line. We're not buying it. We'll cut you some slack, but do try to be a reasonable person, and don't use your youth and inexperience as an excuse to be unpleasant.

-- Jenn Ridley : snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

According to some recent research, your generation will have, for the first time in history, a shorter life span, by 5 to 10 years.

in any case, I was just trying to be helpful. if there is anyone here

I don't know many people who sew, let alone as a leisure indulgence, so this group is, for me, a great source - as they say, "priceless" - many (probably most) of the sewers here have forgotten more than I will ever know. That's nothing to take offense over. It's a fact. Be thankful!

I hope you learn, before it's too late, that sewing can be more than you think right now. It can save you some money, yes. It can also give you much personal satisfaction. From sewing pillows, to drapes, bedroom sets, clothes, gifts - on and on. It is a creative activity, releasing hidden talents. You can have a wardrobe that is unique, at a fraction of the cost most women pay. You can have an apartment decorated and sewn by yourself, that no one else has.

Right now, you're very young, and you are exhibiting a typical "know it all" attitude all too common in young people. Life is tough, school is tough, doing it on your own is tough. We all know that. I too put myself through college, and I too lived on a tight budget. You aren't the only one. This is a large newsgroup, and you are making some ridiculus assumptions. I hope, as you grow up, you also grow in wisdom.

Good luck in school. I hope you do well. Don't insult the people who you want to help you. Doesn't work well.

Sharon

P.S. Your skirts ARE too short. They may be fine for fun activities or school. They aren't professional. I don't appreciate having someone's tushe stuck in my face when I'm shoe shopping. It's distracting.

All sewn by mice, no doubt! ;)

Like one big family, innit!

Thank, darlin'. I'm not the most knowledgeable among us here, but I do 'talk' a lot! Comes of being a teacher, I think... I usually learn at least one new thing every day from one or more of my sewing groups. This is all free knowledge, and the best thanks is to try it and pass it on.

I started sewing as a kid, because I liked doing it and because I got good results this encouraged me to keep going. As a student in the '70's, here in the UK I was lucky enough to benefit from the further education grant system we had here at the time (one of the few good educational ideas the Labour movement has had - but don't get me started! *Especially* not on how the Conservatives later trashed it!). Without it I don't think my parents would have been able to put three out of the four of us through university, and my dad always swore that his kids would NOT have to work their way through uni the way he did... Even so, I was NOT well off as a student. We didn't run cars, have TVs, or live in nice flats, we walked everywhere (I thought nowt of a five mile hike through the snow in Durham to go to a party or a lecture!), lived either in halls of residence (a bit like being at boarding school) or 'out' in private accommodation of the £8 a week for a crappy, cold, damp room with shared (grubby!) bathrooms and kitchens - one step up from 19th C slums! I could NEVER have afforded all the beer I drank without my sewing machine! That earned me lots of beer, helping hands when I needed them, meals when I was hungry, and most of the clothes on my back for a couple of years.

Nowdays I sew to earn the icing on the cake. Christmas is a little richer (but still not madly extravagant), and we can occasionally afford a holiday. It feeds my vicious fabric habit. It buys things like new work surfaces and doors for the new conservatory. It pays for a posh frock length of fabric if I need to look good as The Wife at a work do for the hubby. I'm very lucky that I don't have to do this full-time, or to pay a mortgage/put food in the mouths of kids. To me it's a paid hobby; I could not afford to sew for myself the way I do if it wasn't self financing. I have learned that when I *do* work (less than I'd like die to health issues), I know not to undervalue my time, and I'm learning how to say 'No!'.

Oh, and ditch the idea that sewing is economical! It can (and will) be when you are making coats, mountain gear, business suits, wedding dresses... For jeans and T shirts, hit the cheap shops! For 'ordinary' clothing, you will only do better financially sewing for yourself if you would otherwise have to pay someone else to make you things to fit an awkward figure. Decent fabric isn't cheap, and shoddy, cheap fabric isn't worth sewing. It isn't even very good for practicing as it is so horrible to sew that it can REALLY put you off!* Likewise with threads and other findings. Stick around and pick our brains about the good places for stash shopping, where things can be bought for less than high street prices, and for bargains in the fleece and zipper department.

Cheapo-crap fabric CAN be made to look fantastic, but only with a lot of skilled work, luck, good machines, the right needles and thread, and a lot of patience! I can work wonders with £3.50 poly crepe back satin bridal fabric because I've had many years to come to terms with it and learn it's little ways. On the other hand, a simple to do skirt in a superb 100% wool gabardine at £30 a metre can look fantastic with far less effort, cursing, swearing, sacrifices to the sewing gods, and broken needles! You really have to try hard to spoil it!

Some of the folk here are, like me and like Romanyroamer, professional sewists, some are economic sewists looking to save on specialist kit, some sew because sewing is a drug and gives you a buzz, and some are purely hobby sewists. Some sewists are escapolagists retreating from the stresses of working elsewhere, some find true solace from tragedy here. Some sew only specific things like kites or dog coats, some (again like me) will sew anything they can fit under the needle! Relax and enjoy...

*For practice fabrics, you can do a lot worse than beg curtain and upholstery scraps from a local curtain maker, and make bags, draft excluders, peg bags, oven mitts (watch the fibre content!) and such like. They come in all weights from sheers and fine silks to stuff like carpet! These are the bits I use for teaching kids. All recycled scraps. We get fantastic results. I'm doing Christmas Stockings with them in a couple of weeks, and Easter Baskets or peg bags with another group in the run-up to Easter.

Well, having read this, and having my opinions expressed so eloquently by another who feels the same way, there really is only one other thing to say. Regarding the last line in this post...I for one will not cut any more slack - I did that with the first "plea for help" where apparently we are all old dowdy matrons who have no sense of what is stylish. I offered adivce when she posted about needing help with skirts, and she attacked others. I *know* what is stylish these days for teens, and trust me, if this were my daughter, she would have had some serious time to consider the image she was presenting....possibly a trip to the red light district where she could see the "pros" coincidentally wearing the same skirt she wanted to wear.

I am planning on adding her to my ignor list simply because, it is obvious that she was not raised to respect her elders, or those with more experience than she has, a sad comment as to the raising of the "youth of today" and their parents.

Larisa, off soapbox, adding yet another clueless, inconsiderate child to the ignore lits

Hmmm. Neither of these sounded right for the general US population (maybe neither of you were talking about the US, hard to tell without links to the research you both quote). According to the CDC, the

*average* person (average meaning male or female of any race) born in 1985 will live an average of 6 years longer than a person born in 1950. See graph here: However, if you compare the average number of years a person has to live after age 65, a person born in 1985 will only live a little more than 2 years longer than someone born in 1950. So, statistically speaking, if someone born in 1985 makes it to age 65, they are not going to live "significantly longer" than someone who is aged 55 today. Of course, the only thing we know for certain from all of these statistics is this: we will all die eventually.-j

Oh, curtains! Yes, you can make the biggest saving on them, other than gents natty suiting! But I like sewing the suits and hate sewing curtains! All those HUUUUGE acres of fabric to match up, and drag about, and endless boring straight seams... Yawn!

I'm still looking into the swimsuit sewing idea, even though I got two decent ones from the La Redoute sale for a mere £8.50 each! I've been experimenting with some royal blue Big Knickers for a client, and they are working well, so a cozzy for me could be next! :)

If I look up 'escapolagists' in the OED, will I find a definition? If not, they should add the word...it's a good one. :) I can only sew after my kids are in bed (my 1 yr old is just too dangerous in the sewing room at this point) so when I 'escape' to the machine to a sewing project it is far removed from the rest of my day. So, as an 'escapolagist' I like to sew things like curtains and stuff for my kids. Curtains especially you can save big money by doing them yourself. It's nice to see things take shape from one big pile of fabric. Even better when they turn out right!

-j

The article was about the US, and as I recall, the shorter life span issue was part of a larger article. Hubby and I were discussing it, and probably the only reason I remember it was because it agreed with my opinion in a conversation I'd had several weeks before. Sorry I didn't save any information. And my memory is horrible - I use the "getting older" excuse for that, save the "short attention span" for others;>)

Sharon

With the finest golden threads, of course.

Something along the lines of childhood obesity may possibly shorten the lifespan of the next generation?

love google. It's all right there. We might not have to remember anything ever again. :) Looks like the possibility is under debate, though it would seem to make sense.-julia

I think they ran out of cherry coloured twist...

Yup, that was it! :)

I love the books, and my mum gave James some videos of the stories when he was little. We re-homed the videos to a worthy recipient not long ago, but I kept the books!

"No More Twist." Signed, The Mice :)

Peter Rabbit & Co. This particular one is The Tailor of Gloucester:

What books are they?

A

according to recent peer-review research, you are absolutely wrong:

Borer KT, Physical activity in the prevention and amelioration of osteoporosis in women - Interaction of mechanical, hormonal and dietary factors SPORTS MEDICINE 35 (9): 779-830 2005

McGuire SL, Klein DA, Couper D, Aging education: A national imperative EDUCATIONAL GERONTOLOGY 31 (6): 443-460 2005

Sinclair DA, Toward a unified theory of caloric restriction and longevity regulation MECHANISMS OF AGEING AND DEVELOPMENT 126 (9): 987-1002 SEP 2005

Browner WS, Kahn AJ, Ziv E, et al. The genetics of human longevity AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINE 117 (11): 851-860 DEC 1 2004

each of these studies clearly demonstrate that lifespan is increasing. perhaps you are referring to the incidence and prevalance of obesity in this country, which, for those who are incapable of controlling their eating and/or incapable of getting regular exercise, is definitely leading to a reduced lifespan. i am more than happy to send you electronic copies of the above articles, if you actually have any real interest in researching your claims. as far as i can tell, there are more than a few here who ought to take an interest in the subject of obesity and longevity.

no argument with this point. i would just like this joy to come at a point in my life when i have the option of going out on a friday night or staying at home sewing.

i was only responding to the person who made the claim that kate 'has forgetten more than i will ever know'. perhaps you have forgotten what it is like to be young and constantly reminded of the height of the bar we need to jump to gain acceptance by our older peers. i am fine with the idea that kate may very well have forgotten more than i will ever know, but to say this in such a declarative way precludes any possibility that i might actually aspire to her level. idiom or not, it was uncalled for. i was only trying to be helpful, and if i misunderstood ket's stature, then i apologize. i did not need to be told that, longevity notwithstanding, i will never achieve her acomplishments at the sewing machine. i should also say that kate has been a real star in this discussion, and i mean her absolutely no ill will. it is just a few others...

No, no, I'm somewhat crabbit and thrawn, and stuffed up and grumpy today, due to a stinking cold that prevented my Thursday swim! But I did shed another 2.5lbs, so celebrate with me! 9.5lbs to goal! :D

I have good strong shoulders and a slippery back - I just let most stuff slide off me! If something gets through, offends me, or (more usually) irritates, I have some nice big sharp Scary Teef with which to bite! ;)

Stay, learn about sewing and life with us. Sometimes we get crabby, sometimes we get too sensitive, sometimes we just holler before thinking. I'm ace at that! I have no doubt that if you ignore the feeling that you *have* to sew, and do it because you want the clothes on the restricted student budget, you'll get on better: you won't fight yourself over this, and you can relax. Just remember that every project takes twice as long if you rush it. You are not yet ready to get in from town at 6 pm with the fabric, and be at the party by nine, having made the frock, showered and washed your long curly hair, had a meal, done a full make-up, and re-done your nail varnish - twice! I was 19, an impecunious student, the machine I used is the first one in my sewing machine gallery (yes, I still own it!), and the dress was gold panne velvet. This was in 1976. One day soon you *will* be able to do this.