Which colour?

I thought the ESFJ with all the designer shopping bags and awful outfit was Taylor Swift…? hence my saying that she was an ESFJ in the MM Typing thread.

Google Search is showing that she’s an ESTP, but in any case I am not that outfit.

Waiting on these shoes (they also came in a bright red) to arrive.

…and on this dress (it also came in a garish blue and pink) to arrive.

I don’t like ordering clothes online (don’t trust online advertising). Often, the online representation does not meet reality. This is true especially with clothes made in China (which is most of them). In fact, even brand name (‘original’) clothes are made in China, just as higher level fakes. I remember Spiegel used have some good stuff, now not so much. Really considering learning how to sew myself. :confused:

You don’t know how to sew?

But she’s got so many songs in so many styles. Surely there’s a track that can move your soul.

I know how to knit and how to repair garments, but not how to sew full garments. I’ve always hated sewing and loved knitting. My grandmother used to sew and tried teaching me, but I hated it (I was even put in a sewing club at one point). My mom taught me how to knit and I loved it. Anyway, back then, clothes were actually of better quality. Now, it’s all made with cheap disposable material (and badly sewn too), so you’ll just keep buying more crap clothes. Now, you go to Macy’s and see overpriced designer winter sweaters made of acrylic or cotton. WTF! Am I supposed to just look like I’m warm? Some of these clothes (like Forever 21) look like they were made by sewing school students from scrap material. And they sell!! And did I say that all fabric is synthetic imitation? Try finding any natural fabric like batiste or crepe georgette, everything is rayon and polyester these days that’s made for mass production. You find one sweater that’s like 40% alpaca, and it’s price automatically goes through the roof. Even linen, which is supposed to be cheap material, is presented and priced like something that’s only worn by upper class elites on vacation. It’s insane. It’s the same thing that happened with white rice. People buy brand names not even looking at the material itself, or how it’s sewn together. And don’t get me started on shoes. It’s all about mass production and making money. I mean, I can go on and on.

…that’s the reason I only buy certain brands now, so I can be sure of the quality, fit, and finish without wasting money.

Spiegel? never heard…

Try this site (DM’d you the link) for amazing highend-highstreet and designer bargains… and all because they’re so last season darling (which means just a few weeks out of season to you and I) so 2-300 pound/dollar jeans are 20, 3-1000 pound/dollar coats are 50, etc, etc. etc,

I used to sew with a Viking digital sewing machine and a Singer serger. Still have both machines that need tuning up, but I’m in no rush since it’s a real challenge of patience and precision. Good luck with that undertaking. Lessons from an seamstress are highly recommended. Sewing mistakes are real costly in time and $$$.

When in doubt, don’t cut it out!-MM

I can’t sew, knit or crochet.

Although I would love to be able to knit. :mrgreen:

The Truth About Knitting and Crochet….They are Good for You!
How knitting can improve your mood, mind and body

"Is knitting therapeutic? Heck yes. It’s a proven scientific fact, just like we know chocolate and red wine are good for us. Since turning my life over to yarn, I’ve talked to thousands of knitters who claim it’s cured everything from gout to their weight problems. I can’t speak to all cures, but it can certainly improve one’s mental health. I know it helps mine.”

Don’t get me wrong. I want to learn how to knit and I think I will make it a priority before winter.

Thanks Mags. I’m seeing some pretty high-end stuff there!

That’s because your mind is continuously preoccupied with counting stitches. This is especially so if you’re doing a variable multi-colored design (think Norway sweaters), and a little bit less so if you’re doing cables. If your cable design is uniform and straight (up) then once you get your design started you can follow the stitches by feel more or less (knit/purl), so the mind is more relaxed and the work becomes more or less automatic because the cables usually repeat themselves; but if your cables are diagonal, or travel sideways or crisscross a lot, you’ll still need to keep count, but less so, because the design usually travels/changes vertically (in any case, I find cables easier to do). With multi-color designs you really need to account for every stitch. If you miscount a stitch, or miss it, or it slips and you lose the stitch in the previous row (happens if you knit too loosely), your whole design will get messed up and you’ll have to go back to the last place and redo it. The good thing is that usually, you’d know by the end of the row or beginning of the next row when things don’t seem to add up anymore. This is why it takes longer and you have to double check your work continuously. Anyway, my point is that knitting (especially multi colored designs) involves a lot of counting, so you can’t really let the mind wander; so your mind is mostly focused on one thing, counting. I don’t remember doing a lot of counting when crocheting. :-k Though today, most of the work is done by computerized machines.
With sewing, the most important thing, I think, is proper measurement, but it’s also an art I believe that comes with experience. You’d need to account of how the fabric will shrink after washings (or stretch) and give an extra leeway in your measurements. That, I think, you can know only with experience (by knowing the fabric you’re working with). Also, you’d need to consider individual preferences; some people like their clothes more loose than others. There are some parts of the world where you can still get personalized alteration with your purchased garment, so it fits you perfectly. These are the places that still make and sell their own clothes.
I remember someone mention once that knitting was actually invented by men, and I think it may actually be true, or I won’t be surprised if it were. Men are usually in charge for making fish nets, and it could possibly be considered as a kind of proto-knitting/crocheting, maybe. And I wouldn’t be surprised if early man was already making fishing nets when he was still wrapped in skins/furs.
I am thinking that most women in many cultures have spent a lot of their free time counting, historically. Carpet or tapestry weaving, with intricate designs, for example, takes whole months to complete, and I’m sure it requires a lot of careful counting, and with every row (and there are a lot of rows in a carpet!).
I’ve always wondered what goes through the minds of women who are doing bobbin lace. Do they follow a drawn pattern visually, or do they actually count? A precise design would require a lot of counting, and with that kind of work, you lose your place you’re fucked, unless you can count in multiple dimensions simultaneously! :stuck_out_tongue:

Beautiful handmade work:

Belgian Lace is very beautiful!

Ok, I’m gonna stop now. :laughing:

I remember tinkering with my grandmother’s sewing machine (Singer too). It was one of those where you control the speed with a foot pedal. My thread kept getting stuck inside the machine and I think it was because of the speed; once you start going, you can’t really slow down or the thread will loop on itself or something inside the machine and gets stuck, and you had to get it out from inside (which was dangerous too). So I usually ended up sewing my piece to the sewing machine and spending most of my day re-threading the needle over and over again. I really hated that machine, and I don’t think it liked me back. Nowadays, the sewing machines are programmable, you just press a button and it sews itself with the stitch and speed you want; it will even do embroidery for you.

Pandora,

Nice pics.

A lot of sewing fabrics are supposed to be washed before pattern use. The cutting on the bias always screwed me up. The pre-sewing prep work is taxing.

My Viking does embroidery, but not the actual sewing, still foot pedal biz and trying not to have a lead foot. :laughing:

Um, on second thoughts… I am out of my league here.

SM,

No, get back here! Crocheting is easier than knitting with less procedures to follow in the beginning and only one hook instead of two needles.

:confused:

Perfect ambivalence SM. :mrgreen:

I’m getting a boner thinking about this. I used to visit sewing shops a lot the year I was in college, was into captive columns.

Plus, I really like lace around a woman’s throat. I’m very strange.

Honestly, if I’m dictator, I would largely be Laissez Faire in all things but one:

All women have to wear lace neck chockers, and get one free hair styling per week from the state free of charge, and must wear nice shirts to compliment the hair and chocker.

Furthermore, one week a month, ponytails are mandatory, and absolutely no bitching about these rules are to be tolerated.

You have no idea how pissed I am these aren’t in fashion. If I was to point at one essential article of clothing a woman should always have, it would be that. Fuck the stupid heels and bizarre hats and absurd makeup color schemes, just wear this. Pop it on, open the blouse up a bit, hair in a ponytail, guys won’t notice you didn’t doll up. Takes one minute.

Except for women on this forum, full Islamic hijabs for you. You can have lace covering your eyeholes.

No this is the way, the historical way to go, especially for your imaginary lady friend, almost beardesque. Go ahead and get your rocks off, don’t let us stop you. :laughing:

Checking the Spiegel website out now… I bet it’s very zeitgeist. Taking very long to load.

…if anyone else would like the link to the website I mentioned, I’ll be happy to send. They sell menswear too Turd, and lots of hiking apparel brands… amongst other things.

They are in fashion… just worn differently/with edge.