Tidying

Ahhhh Beverly , I hope this doesn't take as long as it sounds like it's gonna! Glad you are going to get the electrical problem fixed! Barbara in wet SC

The shelf is securely up, and I'm starting to sort all my most recent patterns. My huge problem is deciding what to do with 20-30-40-50-year old patterns. Some of them bring back very fond memories of garments I made, but I know I'll never use them again. I'm going to keep a few for the costume box. But, eighties biiiiig shoulders??? gah!

What to do, what to do... paper recycling or donate? I think a few which were never cut (VERY few, I used almost all of them) I'll donate, the rest can be shredded.

There is a church thrift store I shop at in FL and I often buy patterns that have been used. I'd say to donate all you don't want! Barbara in wet SC

With luck, it's a bad circuit breaker, which is a fast and cheap fix, instead of something involving wiring in the walls. Might want to let him know what brand of breakers are in your box before he comes, if you've got something besides the usual Siemens or Square D or GE.

Speaking of electrical things... I bought a cheap LED bulb from Costco to try in the bathroom. I'm favorably impressed with the color spectrum. Now if it just lasts longer than the CFLs...

Kay

If it's American made or made in Europe, it will last for years, possibly more than you'll live in that house. If it was made in China, all bets are off as they are not "up to snuff" yet.

We had to have additional service brought in from the street (all underground wiring in this neighborhood) when we installed whole house AC about 18 years ago. We had the circuit box upgraded at that time, and the company who did it is still in business, they are the ones who are coming tomorrow. I really hope it's a bad breaker. Barring that, I hope he can somehow split the sewing room wiring off from the rest of the unfinished basement and run it to a dedicated circuit breaker so I don't continue having this issue.

LEDs are going to have to come way down in price before I'll invest in them. Even if they manage to use a lot less electricity, one would have to last many MANY years to compensate for the much higher initial cost.

I loath CFLs.

CFLs are just fine as long as you don't want to read or sew or sit for a while. Good for places like garages and hallways where the light is turned off only once a day. The first one I saw was a porch light on a dormitory, where it was left on all night as a navigation aid.

If you're heading into Portland in the near future, drop 'em all off at SCRAP:

Kay

They've improved a great deal. In my old house, we were having to change lightbulbs frequently, and since the ceilings are so high, it requires a stepladder. A PITA. With the improved CFLs and their much longer life, I've grown to like them. But the LEDs are predicted to last 25 years and more, which is even more attractive. Plus they don't contain mercury.

Nice! I have a load of computer stuff for Free Geek

Yay!!! It WAS the circuit breaker. He replaced it, I turned on every light AND the iron, and it has all stayed lit for over an hour. Whee! (I will replace several of the overhead bulbs with CFLs.)

And since electricians charge by full hour increments, I asked him to install my third security camera, so now I'm covered front, back and side with motion activated cameras which record video and audio. :-)

Beverly

Please do re-think weeding your pattern collection. I did. Gave away hundreds. I sincerely and many times over regret it. So many times since then I have needed one of them and could not find a good replacement. I am a nut about keeping my creating area tidy; even the kitchen pantry and medicine cabinet - but will never ever get rid of a pattern unless it one of those ... you know ... one that deserves to be set on fire and profoundly stomped to smithereens. Polly

I'm definitely keeping patterns for all wedding gowns, prom dresses, and other special occasions. I agree with you that the older patterns were drafted so much better, but no matter how good the pattern is, jackets with HUGE shoulders from the 80s (think Joan Collins in Dynasty ) are probably never going to be useful again. As well, I am unlikely ever to be a (pattern size) 10 again.

:-}

Glad to hear it was an easy fix. If you ever need another circuit breaker replaced, consider checking all the GFI/GFCI outlets in the house as a "filler job" -- they also go bad over time.

I was in Escada a few weeks ago (shopping with my mother) and mentioned to the sales clerk how I wished I could wear my gorgeous 80s vintage pink wool jacket. She claimed they're coming back! Liz

I seriously doubt Alexis' look is EVER coming back:

Those shoulders served a purpose. I used to snip the shoulder pads out and staple them to the ends of my clothes hangers. Made great padding to keep the shoulder/sleeve soft instead of creased. Polly

I recently retired but I had a customer that wore nothing but Escada. ( I did alterations). Needless to say the clothes were gorgeous and so well made...but...I had to shorten all the jacket sleeves and they all have true buttonholes ...so it makes it very ha rd to do. They are impossible to remove..and hard to get the exact measurments since the first button should not be so close to the edge and this happened all the time with her clothes. I even Emaied Esacada explaining this. :-) Doubt if they listened. Audrey from Oyster Bay Long Island NY aka snipped-for-privacy@msn.com (my PC)

If sleeves have a vent with buttonholes, the better option is to shorten the sleeves from the top. I did this recently on two jackets for my (short) daughter. Fortunately, the two-part sleeve seams were generous, and I was able to add width to the sleeves at the top and then recut the cap about