More surprises: Fabric Shopping at the National City Swap Meet in San Diego

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!!   I'm thankful for all of you reading this blog and your comments and meeting up with you in real life!  It is such a gift to meet other seamsters.

Thank you  for your comments about my grand dash up to LA's fashion district and all the fabric shopping that ensued. If you haven't been, you definitely have to try it!

So that night I took the train back to San Diego.  Saturday morning, Elizabeth, her BFF from college, and I hit up the National City Swap Meet.  Dawn had written about the NCSM in this post on her blog.  She had bought almost 40 yards of fabric and 30 yards of trim for under $100.  I definitely wanted to check it out.  It's only open on Saturdays and Sundays, so I carefully planned the trip around that.


Basically it's like a flea market that has fabric too. 50 cents admission at the door (well, fence) and you're on your way to perusing fabric--thanks for paying for me, Elizabeth! There were some notions there too. The fabric is spread out on tarps on the ground, for the most part, though some sellers have the fabric on rolls. I bought from two sellers, $1 and $2 a yard.

Elizabeth with her new haircut and blue Archer

I found some $2 a yard turquoise ponte knit, brown ponte knit, and soft black and gray sweater knit. Also some textured polyester for making dresses and some loose weave sweater knit for shirts.

I had imagined it to be much larger than it actually was, but that was a good thing.  Also Elizabeth says the vendors don't always go every week.  You never know what you're going to get.

Then we were off to a French restaurant for a yummy brunch, the kind of place where hot chocolate is served in a bowl.  Yes!

Thanks Elizabeth for the fun morning!  It was fun to see you again, meet your BFF and experience some new fabric shopping.

That evening I had dinner with my friends Wolfgang and Michele.  Michele is a gourmet chef....more delicious food!!!

But first Wolfgang and I went to see the seals, and while the seals were not out in Children's Cove, the sunset in La Jolla was amazing.




I flew back to NJ the following day and then....I started purging my fabric stash!    All about that tremendous effort in the next post!!!

All pix from LA and SD are here.

Be well!!

More back pain, update on Simplicity 2558, continued

Don't get freaked out! The spider is fake!!


The sunset over the Stop and Shop tonight:


Here's a tree with yellow and green leaves in my backyard:



So my neck still hurt this morning, but I gave myself a neck rub and it felt a bit better. But now my mid right back is hurting, quite a lot, which hasn't happened before (previously it hurt but not this much). It seems to be getting more painful as the night is wearing on, sigh. My right knee started hurting again after more than a week of no pain at all. Am I ever going to have a day without pain again? Whenever I start having thoughts like that, something pops up in the media--tonight on 60 Minutes it was a story about people with epilepsy. Last week it was a story in Esquire about a guy who can't eat food, and a story in the Star Ledger about a teenager who keeps having concussions. It could always be worse. Of course I want to be pain free, but it could always be worse.

Here's my jacket update. I fixed the sleeve width and length, and fixed the back collar with some tacking. I did the hem, though I don't love it, but I don't want to make it any shorter. I sewed on one set of snaps which is cool, but I probably should have sewn the button on first. Hmmm...will have to play with it a bit more.


With one layer underneath:


With two layers underneath (a long sleeved shirt, and a lined jacket):


Back, collar fixed:


Here you can see the dropped sleeve, it's really tight in there.


Oh, my back hurts. Gah. Maybe Len will see me tmw.

Acupuncture part deux; rare NJ rainbow!

I'm still feeling pretty good. Had another meeting today on a different unsupportive chair; back was not screaming. Things are definitely looking up. Pain was like a 1/2. Knee pain has returned a little. Of course, this morning I did not help it by accidentally whacking my right knee on the corner of the bathroom vanity countertop. I mean, I actually saw the vanity countertop LIFT UP--that is how much force my knee apparently has in upward motion (or how poorly the vanity is held together--you choose). My "boo boo" (as my acupucturist called it) has turned blue/red, is raised and is the size of a quarter. And it sort of hurts. Of course I used my ice packs.

Had my second acu session. Note to self: don't move my leg once acupuncturist has inserted all needles!!! I wanted to show her where the tick bite was--after she inserted the needles--oh, that was painful! She said the muscle grips on to the needle when the leg is moved. I got the message. It was a dumb move (heh) on my part.

Anyway, I think she had about 10-15 needles per side inserted in my feet, calves, knees, hips, arms and one in each ear. This time she played music accompanied by bells ringing instead of birds chirping. It was great. I could feel various muscles fluttering or twitching, which she said is the energy moving through my body. This time I had a warm spot on my forearm, away from any needle. I was able to do my deep yoga breathing without any pain. She then rubbed the lotion on my legs afterwards. I paid up for both visits and made another appt for next Wednesday. I told her that I like her approach and how I didn't have to fill out forms and how she treated me like a human. She said her approach is to be treated as she would like to be treated. She said she started treatments 8 years ago and for her first 5 patients she had them fill out forms, then she abandoned that. She said she gets a clearer picture of what is going on when she asks questions and listens.

I wanted to go walking in Princeton afterward but it started raining! It seems to rain for at least part opf every day, but I don't mind. So I went for a walk around my neighborhood when it started to clear.

A rare NJ rainbow:


As the sun sets on another day:


Best cloud pic for today:


Blurry stream photo:


I have been doing the stretch Len told me to do. I like it a lot because I'm not crawling around on the floor like for the therapist stretches. It involves a staircase, so I can do them here or at work. Turns out a lot of people use the staircase at work...

Oh, and my dad bought a book called "Hacking Your Roomba". Sounds like fun for programmer types!!

Good night!!!

Sheer delight!

What does that drawing look like to you??

Week in review

Tuesday: Had massage at the gym. Deep tissue massage for half an hour was a bit too much like physical therapy for me. Next time I want something more superficial--like pampering--and less expensive--like $1 a minute.

Thursday: Had dinner with my friend Ellen from the gym. She caught me up on all gym gossip. I was so happy to talk with someone from that part of my life.

Friday: Saw chiropractor after work. Len is a magician. He worked on my knees and my back. That night, I walked up the stairs for the first time in 5 years without any knee pain at all (the pain has since come back in my right knee but the left one still feels like new!). My back was slightly aggravated from his treatment but I'm definitely willing to give him a shot!! He said his treatments will be 15 minutes each time, twice a week for a month, and that what he does will last progressively longer after each visit. I see him tmw night and then he is off for the rest of the week as the official chiropractor for some track and field event, but thereafter I can definitely see him twice a week for a month. He hopes that I won't have to go back to the orthopedic. His office is conveniently located close to work. 15 minutes a session beats upwards of 2 hours of therapy per visit!

Yesterday: My ebay auctions ended. I somehow entered the wrong amount for postage for one item (much much much much less than it should have been) but it worked out because the buyer wanted to have it mailed Express Mailed to San Diego and asked for a revised invoice--phew! Otherwise my mistake would have wiped out a good portion of what I made on this batch of ebay!!

Today we celebrated my parents 45th wedding anniversary (which was actually last weekend) and Father's Day.


Card I made...much better than Hallmark!


Fridge cake I made...with chocolate chips forming "45"


Fabric for apron I made for mom.


LOVE these numbers on the box of Thomas Sweet chocolate!!

Dad spent a good portion of the afternoon installing my new double traverse rod with new sheers and old curtains):

They are sheer bliss (heh heh)! I am so in love with these curtains! Plus my parents hauled away my un-ebay-able stuff that I was getting rid of so the living room is looking clean and tidy again. And Hal gave a little dance recital too. Hal is really such a joy!! I highly recommend!!


The sun sets on another day....wish I had tomorrow off--good night!