Keeping Up With The Young Whippersnappers

Or trying to. I don't understand Twitter or Instagram, really, but I added myself to the Sewcialists firehose and Twitter list to try to stay hip. Because that's just how I roll.

While we're at it, here's a skirt I whipped up because I had nothing to wear At first (and in this picture) it was just a tube with a waistband of stretchy black knit. But as I was walking across the parking lot to work it fell down! (As far as I know no one was looking and anyway I had on my bicycle pants underneath.) So now it has an elastic waistband.



I also made the t-shirt I'm wearing. It might be a Renfrew.

Random Questions in Lieu of a Real Post

Do you sweat while you sew? More specifically, while you lay out and cut out fabric? I do, like a pig. If pigs sweat a lot. The climate does not seem to make any difference.

Has any of you who have attained "a certain age" as I have found that your fingernails and toenails have begun to grow longer and stronger than they did in your youth? I recall a conversation in Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead about whether fingernails grow after death and whether toenails grow at all. Rosencrantz opines that his toenails do not grow because if they did they would be curled around the ends of his toes because he never cuts them. When I first saw this play in the 1970's I was struck by the accuracy of Rosencrantz's observation about toenails. Now my toenails need trimming every couple of weeks or my shoes don't fit. I find it irritating that it is only as I grow too old to reach my toes easily that they begin to require my attention. My fingernails, which have always grown but used to break off and stay stubby, also grow long and strong now.

Should the previous question have begun with "Have"?

Do you get regular manicures and/or pedicures? I got a manicure before my wedding and have never had a pedicure. My friends, however, swear by them.

Do you indulge in notions porn? I can spend hours surfing sewing notions sites like Nancy's Notions or MacCulloch & Wallis even if I have no intent to buy anything. And why are sewing notions called haberdashery in the UK while a haberdasher in the US sells men's clothing and accessories?



What is the best way to develop good taste? I seem to devote a lot of time (and money) to sewing garments that, even if they are successfully constructed and fit me, don't suit me or my situation in life.

And speaking of my situation in life, I am hatching a plan to retire early, sell my house and live on my pension and social security somewhere in Europe. Early could be as early as next summer. DH wants to stay in Los Angeles but I wouldn't mind leaving him behind if I can figure out how to afford it and/or talk him into getting a job. (grumble grumble) What do you think?