SewBlue / is on Nostr

My life and interests in bullet points.

- mother to a severely dyslexic kid. I do a lot of advocating, as severe dyslexics get shut out of the written internet so you do not see their viewpoints expressed.
- long covid suffer, but able to manage it
- Engineer, except math and science jokes.
- Crafter, mainly sewing. Love any kind craft and art.
- Lover of history and architecture
- old house lover, love my 90 year old house.
- black cat affectionado. So cats.

Last Notes

2024-09-06 23:57:25

Finished the flower!
Entirely hand sewn. Silk chiffon on a buckrum base.
Each petal is an individual bit of chiffon, doubled over and gathered. Each tier of petals of a different size.
#sewing @npub1kle…neyl #1930s #costuming #HistoricalCostuming #Gatsby
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/113/093/293/425/675/125/original/3a2502ef275cc72b.jpg

2024-08-31 21:15:36

When your dress lining would make a damn fine dress on its own.
Red silk crepe. Self drafted pattern based off instructions. Authentic 1930's cut.
That tiny amount of blousing over fitted hips is surprisingly difficult to do. Especially when you are busty.i got the fit absolutely perfect for a tight dress, then added an inch and a half of easeto just the waist.
Think I'm going to have to make a similar dress is a solid color like this. The simplicity of cut and fabric really suite each other.
#sewing #1930s #Gatsby #GatsbyAfternoon @npub1kle…neyl
https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/113/058/687/460/866/834/original/0a12516764981be9.jpg

2024-08-30 16:13:44

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In my town, Vallejo California, they straight up bulldozed half of downtown for a freeway that never came.
Vallejo was a Navy town, and had a huge, rather seedy nightlife spot for the sailors on leave. Party town of the west coast. During WWII a large number of black Americans were brought in to work the shipyard, in segregated housing. Like most of the Bay Area there hadn't been much of a black population before WWII.
Within 15 years of the war ending white flight had taken over and they simply bulldozed most of downtown to stop any black owned businesses from forming in the vacuum. Highly restricted zoning to prevent even restaurants. It was repeated all over the Bay Area - Oakland, Richmond Hunters Point, Marin City. Any place that had ship building intentionally sabotaged the economic growth of the city long term because of the demographic changes, to prevent black wealth.
Pisses me off on so many levels.

2024-08-30 13:26:43

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This one lost my respect for him as well.
I loved loved his Great Courses on language - it really made me reevaluate my thoughts on language, what it does and why/how it is used in certain ways, especially to control and enforce class and power dynamics. I've listened to it a couple times, all 26 hours or so. I went through a John McWhorter period for a while, seeking out his stuff. Was super excited when he got this column.
That did not last long. He can not be more infuriating than about politics. He is an expert in his field and is entirely overconfident outside it. He's using language to enforce the class boundaries, rather than break them.
He is shaming people for being excited. He's calling out racism while ignoring that it's misogyny at play. People started to get excited over Hilary too, they just had to hide it. Pantsuit Nation, remember that? Now we don't have to hide it. With the adde excitement for a fresh face breaking new ground, for someone willing to fight.

2024-08-11 19:30:12

Finished my vintage 1930's girdle! Haven't received the garter clips I just ordered, so am 95% complete.
The patterns is a reproduction vintage French pattern. Single layer black coutil, with power net elastic panels for a bit of give. I flat felled all the seams, and did exterior bone casings, using synthetic whalebone. 7 bones, as I added one CB.
The patten maker knew what they were doing. It does not ride up, and is weighs less than some modern shape wear I own. Breaths better too, being cotton. The elastic panels are just enough to prevent spill out and keep anything from digging in, and the curves along the bottom edge doesn't interfere with sitting at all.
Only change I'd make is to add another layer of power net to the gussets, as they are going to wear out pretty quickly if I don't get some support.
That said, the translation from French is challenging, so you need decent corset making skills.
#sewing #MrsDepewVintage #GatsbyAfternoon #Gatsby #costuming #1930s
https://mrsdepew.com/shop/ols/products/vintage-sewing-pattern-french-1930s-pin-up-corset-and-garter-belt-depew-2017-instant-download
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2024-08-01 16:18:30

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I got long covid after being super sick first wave, late Feb 2020. Not hospitalized, but if I hadn't been fairly healthy going in it would have killed me. It wanted to kill me, I could feel it. Missed a month of work, ended up in the ER because I was blacking out. Was so early some doctors kept refusing to believe it was covid, prescribing me ever increasing strength antibiotics that didn't work. Testing was not available.
Long covid hit me 10 months later, when I decided to stop taking it easy out of fear of myocarditis. A 20 minute walk left me bedbound for months.

2024-06-20 00:05:40

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I work in infastructure, as an engineer.
The idea of plastic eating microbes frankly scares me. Great for microplastics in the environment an everything that means, but horrible for burried plastic infastructure.
Almost all gas pipe, mile for mile, installed since 1970 is plastic. Buried cables, both communications and power, coated in plastic. Extensive use from an engineering perspective of how inert plastic and how it doesn't decay. Far, far superior to steel for anything buried.
We are living on borrowed time once life figures out how to eat plastic. Houses will go boom from gas leaks and the internet and power will start to fall.
It will be a game changer, for sure.

2024-06-10 04:51:53

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I heard about this years ago. Made me much less anxious when I can't fall back asleep.
Have taught myself to recognize the state (mostly) so I just let myself go with it.
If I truly can't sleep I play a mind's eye confidence game. I think of something I know how to do very well but it's slightly boring, and then over think the details like crazy. I sew, and for many years I thought of making masks for my family to put myself to sleep. I'd picture every stage in overwhelming detail - how bored I am waiting for the iron to heat up, the weight of it my hand, a stubborn wrinkle, the cord is the way. Never have finished a mask in my mind before falling asleep. A task my brain is so wired to do it does not take thought.
Kills the anxiety doom loop. By focusing on a familiar, mundane task you are slightly bored by your brain will stop fighting sleep.

2024-05-19 20:57:20

My garden right now. Heaps of flowers. Hard to believe this was a wasteland of lawn a year ago.
The California poppies were volunteers. I love how many bumble bees they attract.
#bloomscrolling #NoLawn
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2024-05-13 18:26:39

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Mechanical engineer here.
I find rather ironic on a certain level that we have never moved past the use of steam to generate power. Even nuclear fusion, the forever the tech of the future, conceptually uses a steam turbine.
Fancier and fancier ways to heat water is all we have done is almost 150 years year.
We essentially plateaued in 1884. Nuclear, natural gas, oil, coal all turn steam engines. Only except is a natural gas turbine, but they don't scale well to this kind of power output. Still a turbine, but at least skipping a steam intermediary. 😉
Beyond that, ugh - I can't imagine how nerve-wracking this phase of construction is. Those things are delicate. Must have been a long slow process.