Classes and sketches

     Found a little specialization thing on Coursera, where I've done several French-language courses just for the fun of it, on cybersecurity. I knew next to nothing about it, and it seems to keep popping up in conversation, so I figured I'd learn a bit in all my spare time. Although it does require a fair bit of note-taking, there's also some time during the lectures where one's hands are unoccupied, a dangerous thing. Found a sketch pad and a pencil just hanging out near my desk and...

New skills but not standalone

     One of the things I really appreciate about thermoplastics is that it requires a lot of secondary skills to create a finished product. I enjoy exploring new things, and learning how stuff works, so limiting myself to just 4 hobbies was a bit of a downer, even though I realize it's necessary to really make strides in any of them. Thermoplastics is nice, however, in that it requires at least a minimum level of skill in several other things. Deconstructing a 3D concept into 2D pattern pieces, molding and shaping forms to fit the wearer, a reasonable knowledge of glues and adhesives, some amount of painting, how best to attach pieces to the wearer (velcro, straps, ties, etc), and knowledge of a wide range of materials.

Halloween and making patterns

     Several years ago, I bought a green work skirt that I adore. It's got a half-elastic waist, so it looks smooth and dignified in front, but is gathered in the back and comfortable to wear at a desk job in ways that (in my opinion) zippered dresses aren't. It's made of fairly thin cotton gauze over an underskirt, however, which means it's slowly gotten more worn, the seams are loosening, and one edge is starting to fray. Not so horrible that it doesn't look nice in an office, but all it would take is one good snag, or getting caught on something in the washing machine, and it'd be dead.

     On a seemingly unrelated note, I'm dressing up as Anna from Frozen this year, and as I was looking through my small stash of fabric, I found four yards of a perfect dark blue for her winter skirt, in a light, flowy fabric. Since I do not currently have time, skill, or supplies to replicate the embroidery/ patterns on the original skirt, I figured I could take artistic license with the pattern, kill two birds with one stone, and recreate the green skirt so I can use it again after Halloween (I have slight issues with one-time-use things, especially when I'm handcrafting things).

Exercise goals

     In 2017, I somewhat randomly picked a physical fitness goal to hit by 2019: to do a pike-to-handstand (link). I keep seeing it done in "people are awesome" youtube videos, which I watch occasionally as an end-of-day feel-good mood booster, and they look amazing. I found a couple sites that broke it down into separate parts, and I've been working on them as part of my regular workouts.

     In a similar vein, NerdFitness, the geeky website I use for fitness information, released a "Rings and Handstands" pack that takes you step-by-step on how to do things like handstands, handstand push-ups, ring L-sits, ring muscle-ups, and ring front levers. It was half off, as an introductory price, so I went for it, and have been working my way through some of the progressions there, as well, since many of them target the same muscles and skills as pike-to-handstands.

Halloween! (back to sewing)

     Tough decision, but I've put thermoplastics on the back burner for a little bit, so I can get two sewing costumes done. One, for Halloween at work, is Anna from Frozen. I'm not aiming for exact, but I have a green shirt, pink scarf, and black boots, so I decided to make a black vest and blue skirt and call it close enough. I made it my goal to finish the vest this week so I could do the skirt next week, and not be last-minute frantic panicking which seems to be a costume/ cosplay staple.
   
     This week absolutely conspired against me. I made the decision on Monday, but ran late at the gym. Tuesday was my birthday, and the house needed cleaning. Wednesday I had jury duty, which was literally across the beltway from where I live and got out at 5:30. Got home with enough time to cut the fabric out, fake a workout, and turn in. Thursday was an evening class, and Friday was preempted by a friend having issues.

     Ok, fine, the weekend will be plenty of time to work on it. Except Saturday was lovely, and my gentleman suggested finishing some outdoor work we've been putting off, with a pressure washer that we borrowed from a friend and really need to get back... and I'd been meaning to winterize the garden anyway... and then we'd promised to meet some friends for dinner and card games... and that was the end of Saturday with no sewing done.