I realized this morning that I worked the straps of the Reynolds top incorrectly. When I turned the straps right-side-out, the interfacing was on on the outside, rather than the inside. It seems that when I folded the straps in half to sew them up the side seam, I folded them the wrong way. The interfacing should’ve been on the wrong side. I also seam ripped the top stitching on the back panel and accidentally ripped a hole in the center back of the seam. Today’s sewing momentum was pretty slow and a little demoralizing, but I have a plan to fix these mistakes moving forward.
I also started listening to Emily Henry’s Funny Story on a whim. I listened to Great Big Beautiful Life a couple of weeks ago and found the story and characters really compelling and interesting. That was my first foray into Emily Henry and was pleasantly surprised.
I am revamping my website and thought that I would start a “Proof of Life” series. This was inspired by Megan Rhiannon‘s Proof of Life series on YouTube, so I can’t take credit for the name. I just loved the idea of a lower stakes check-in and update where I don’t feel pressured to have to do it at a regular interval.
Okay, as I am working on this, I decided to look up what proof of life actually means as a concept, and found this on Wikipedia:
Proof of life, a phrase referring to evidence used to indicate proof that a kidnap victim is still alive
I can’t remember if Megan touched on this or not, but that explanation is pretty perfect if you know how I feel about existence. This series basically says “These are the things I am up to and thinking about that prove I am still here”. I also think it is a great way to practice some mindfulness around the things I am doing day-to-day since I find it so easy to fall into the rhythm of life on autopilot. Alright. We got that out of the way. Lets hop into the inaugural proof of life.
A couple of weeks ago while out on medical leave, I fell quick and deep into the Neapolitan Quartet by Elena Ferrante. This was a series that I heard all over booktube, but never felt compelled to pick up until I was forced to take it easy during recovery. I picked up My Brilliant Friend on a whim and I was locked in for the rest of the Quartet. I veraciously devoured the audio books and didn’t bother to take any notes or capture my thoughts, so I want to do a closer reread highlighting and digging deeper into the conversations around friendship, identity, class, fascism, feminism, and all the other topics these novels touch on.
I have been working on my sewing and knitting. I have a self-drafted tube top on my knitting needles that is a knit 4, purl 1 rib in the round and I am in the process of sewing the Reynolds Top. I created a toile as a practice run, and now I am in the process of sewing it up in my chosen fabric. I am really trying to take my time with the top and listen to myself when I feel that I am working to get it done vs enjoying the process of making. I had a moment earlier where I was pinning my flat felled seam to do the final stitch, and I was really enjoying the process of putting the pins in, then out, all down the back. I sewed down the seam, and then realized that I pinned and sewed it on the wrong side (boo). I was really frustrated, so I decided to call it there for the day. Next sewing session, I want to
Next sewing session, I want to:
Turn the straps right sides out and press
Seam rip the flat-felled top stitch
Re-sew the flat-felled top-stitch by hand with the right thread color
