Sunday project – a padded phone case

Since my daughter gifted me with an IPhone 8 Plus for Christmas, I’ve had some anxious moments. It cost almost as much as my MacBook Air! And seems fragile to me.

I immediately ordered glass protective shields for the face, and a really nice snap-in case. But I dislike carrying it around! it fits in my wallet, and I’ve been thinking about a padded envelope for its travels in my handbag. Yes, I looked all over for one online, and they all came up short on some feature. Picky…

So I made my own 🙂

Sewing notes:

• Materials: fabric for the shell (Kaufman Balboa Essex linen), lining (poly/cotton broadcloth, and fusible fleece, 1 x size 3 sew-on snap.
• About closures: velcro would work but also catch all kinds of lint. And magnets are a big no-no for anything that has a circuit board.
• All my seams are 1/2″ and are trimmed quite a bit after sewing.
• My phone, in its backing case, is 3.6″ x 6.5″.
• Pattern and construction:

I cut 2 layers of the shell fabric, lining, and fusible, and a 4″ x 2″ strip for the closure tab.

Sewing:

It’s just a bagged shell with the tab added at the top. And the snap sewn to shell and tab.

It’s perfect! Happy Sunday to all, Coco

Sewing! Ready to Sew Justine Skirt

Actually, I’ve been sewing like crazy. It’s a great way to release tension and get off to never never land 🙂

Check out this delightful skirt from Ready to Sew and, at the moment, it’s free. Grab it… Features: a layered PDF and half sizes, total 21 sizes. Remarkable!

Sewing notes:

• I sewed the size 38, and it was perfect, including the width of the waistband.

• My fabric is Kaufman Essex linen from Hancocks of Paducah. It’s a longtime favorite fabric for pants, jumpsuits, and skirts. It has just enough body with a relaxed drape – I wouldn’t do this skirt in anything really drapey, e.g., rayon challis, or too heavy, e.g., bottomweight twill.

• Loves – the pockets. The decorative flap is so cute, and they are truly deep.

• Be sure to catch the flap in the corner triangle. Got to keep it turned and flat…

• The skirt has a one-button closure, but I was very wary of using a button closing. Have you ever had a button pull and pull, maybe tear the fabric to which it was sewn? I opted for two things: I added an additional piece of woven interfacing under the closure area,

• and I used a waistband fastener for closure, with a non-functioning button on top!

About that top – it’s a Style Arc Elsie blouse, sleeveless, sewn in Kaufman Royal Cotton Oxford, from Fabric.com. What a delightful blouse fabric.

I love this and plan to wear it over and over as I search for a new house in Orlando. Easy dressing 🙂 Coco

Two weeks to go till the move…

One of the most time-consuming efforts, pending my house move, has been going through my library and donating books that I simply will not re-read.

I love books, I love owning them, I love seeing them on my shelves. Just holding a book and turning the pages is so peaceful and fulfilling.

But – my space as I downsize will be limited. I’ve kept nine of these shelves full. Time for big decisions.

What I kept: my collections, Churchill, Annie Proulx, Graham Greene, Paul Theroux, John le Carre, Patrick O’Brian, McCullough, miscellaneous travelogues and exploration writings from the 1800’s, all my math and science books, gardening including the priceless Exotica, 2 volumes, hard to acquire now. Family cookbooks and travelogues, chronicles of the 20th century, history of the great wars, books on the US experience in China and Japan, Atlas – the world, the human anatomy, dictionaries and grammars – English, French, Spanish, Portuguese. And of course my huge international stamp collection, catalogues, albums, and work in progress. I collect up to 1958, after which the beautiful printing techniques ceased.

My library is still large and will keep me company for all the years to come. Plus I have another 70 books on my Nook – never without a good book!

Read on, Coco

Donating is not always easy!

I’ve just had a strange experience. Since I’m moving, I’ve decided to donate some furniture, duplicate bakeware and kitchenware, appliances, clothes, shoes, handbags, linens, a sewing machine, and an LCD TV.

Easy, right? No. Here are the organizations that turned me down. They don’t pickup due to costs, they don’t take TV’s more than 4 years old, they don’t taking clothing, on and on…

• Habitat for Humanity
• Goodwill (a disappointment, my husband was on the Goodwill Roundtable in Miami)
• Veterans of America

And my first choice, the Breast Cancer Foundation. They cannot schedule a pickup until mid-September. Busy people…

The Rescue Mission of Miami was happy and willing, as was the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army is coming on Wednesday, and I’m happy with this as my family has always supported them with food and $ donations at Christmas and Thanksgiving.

An interesting quest with unexpected results. Coco

Beauty tip – facial hair and beyond

Well, here we go, a serious tip for maintaining that smooth and lovely facial finish…

I’m talking about the hair and fuzz that wants to live on our lips, chins, cheeks, and other environs.

Not one of us is immune to this hair invasion!

For a while, years ago, I used Nair. And then DIY wax depilatories. Even a salon dipilatory.

What a waste of time, and, often, a pathway to ingrown hair follicles.

For some years, 10 or so, I’ve used a coiled spring tool for unwanted hair removal. Mine (I have two) have some obscure Turkish origin, a beauty store, but here is one from Tweezerman.

I use it on my chin, nasal folds, under my nose, and around my lips (are you aware of the hair under the tip of your nose). And this doesn’t mean it can’t be used elsewhere. Conservatively, from time to time, I’ve used mine to remove ‘fuzz’ from my cheeks that seemed to capture makeup. From there – use your imagination.

The point is, it’s not invasive, it’s effective (I’ve gone form hair on my lip to a bit of fuzz, easily removed), and you can do it. It’s no more painful than what the alternatives offer, and it’s all yours.

Beauty, ladies… Ciao! Coco