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Getting organised - the patterns edition

This year I decided that one of the best ways to achieve my 'developing my own style' goal was to join the Sew Weekly Challenge - sewing a garment/outfit weekly for a whole year (it does exactly what it says on the tin).

I'm nearly through the first month and although I haven't dropped a week yet, life is trying its most determinedness to get in the way. You'll see in other posts about Mr D's week hauled up in a Chicago hotel unable to fly home because of kidney stone pain, then his flight on Friday night....and our trip to Emergency Services till 3am when the pain got too much. Well, I've been ferrying him around doctors, back to Emergency Services to pick up scans, and this afternoon I'll be taking him to a Surgical Centre (or should that be Center here in the US?) for laser surgery to remove a stone 4mm wide by 6mm long (trying to think what that is in imperial....possibly 1/8 of an inch by 1/4 of an inch?).

Remarkably, I still finished last week's garment, which a post about it should be up on Sew Weekly some time this week....and had time to take some silly self-portrait shots of myself in it:

 

 

I'm looking forward to the day Mr D. is fit again not only for his sake but because he takes much better photos of me than I do. Does that sound really selfish? Pah! He enjoys getting me to silly things on camera too....did you honestly think this was my idea?:

 

 

I hate to break it to you, but he's just as bonkers as I am.

Aaaaanyway. So to cope with all the 'little' things that life is going to throw in my way during this year, I decided I needed to get seriously organised. Starting with organising 1) my patterns, then 2) my sewing room/lair, on to 3) my fabrics stash and then 4) 'the closet'.

Basically I need to be able to see what I've got so when I'm out shopping I buy what I actually need (hopefully not too many clothes this year as I'd like to make anything I need, but we'll see) and more importantly NOT BUY stuff I already have several of......and this includes similar patterns, fabrics, threads, zips etc.

So I started with the patterns.

What I wanted was a way of quickly being able to browse my patterns (they were all crammed into one drawer in my cutting table/cabinet) either planning at home when Mena issued a new theme for the Sewing Weekly Challenge or more importantly when I was out shopping in SAS Fabrics, Hobby Lobby, Wal-mart etc....if I just happened to see a gorgeous fabric crying out to be made into something, to be able to access all my patterns on my iphone and know exactly what could be made of it and what I needed.

I started by scanning all the fronts and backs of my patterns and putting the scanned jpgs into a folder called 'Patterns' which is in another folder called 'Sewing' (genius eh?) on my computer. Also in the larger 'Sewing' folder are individual folders, one for each Sew Weekly Challenge, that are named by the garment name and include the photos of the finished item, a copy of the pattern scans and any 'in-progress' pics I take to help me with sizing or remembering details for future projects:

 

 

I then started out creating a Google docs solution that could be accessed on my phone wherever I was. This started out with creating a Google doc form:

 

 

And then I started entering all the details from each of my patterns using this form to create a Google docs spreadsheet (it's the ex-accountant in me, I loves me spreadsheets I does....not so hot on me grammar).

 

 

As you can spot if you're eagle-eyed, I've only got 13 patterns entered via this system though.....and this was because of one drawback trying to organise my patterns this way - what I'd ideally want was a thumbnail pic of the front of each pattern in a spreadsheet cell. You can add pics to the spreadsheet, but only in the same way you can add graphs, they sit sort of on the top of the information, you can't assign individual images into specific cells to improve the text data.

One way I tried to get around this was by adding a column that could include hyperlinks, and this way for each pattern details entry, there's a link to a pic of the pattern on the internet.

And this got me wondering:

• Was the spreadheet actually overkill and even then not totally satisfactory?
• Wasn't what I really wanted the pics of the pattern fronts first and limited info. (an idea of the yardage of fabric needed for the garments in my size, the essential notions/haberdashery - zips, buttons etc.)?

And this is when I thought about using Pinterest.

I seem to remember reading somewhere Oona, a Sew Weekly inspiration and icon, saying she wished that there was something like Pinterest that could help organise sewers/sewist/seamstresses....I can't currently find a link of where she said this, and I've seen others using Flickr to try and organise/document their creations. I've also signed up to try Go Chic or Go Home, and I'll tell you how this goes at a later date. But I've loved Pinterest from my first discovering it as a research tool, initially for planning (dreaming/wishing) DIY projects for our home, then over Christmas it came into it's own for craft project inspirations......but I thought it might be perfect as a pinboard to carry about in my pocket of all my patterns.

So I uploaded all my fronts of packets:

 

And then something I never expected happened, people started following this pinboard, repining the patterns, liking them and commenting on them. I thought that this would just be a resource to help me, but others seem to like it too.

This has been a great resource. When a new challenge theme pops up, I can easily browse my Pinterest board on my computer, phone or ipad and decide on a pattern I'd like to use.

The next step with this organising project is to edit each pin to include a link to the original pattern online ie. linking my pinned McCall's 6466 to the details on the McCall's website so I can have a very quick way when out and about of accessing the pattern line art and fabric/notions required. I've already started doing this for some of the patterns displayed, but not all yet.

I think I'm also going to link each pattern to my blog post on Sew Weekly as I make them, so I and others can see a finished look.

But in the meantime, I've filed away the physical patterns....now in two drawers, one for Butterick and McCall's, and another for Simplicity, Vogue and others:

 

 

And now I need to get on with some fast and furious sewing, before life throws its next spanner in the works.

Hopefully in the next few weeks I'll show you how I've been getting my sewing room/lair organised too.

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Emergency Services

Do you remember when I said that one of my goals for 2012 was to get over my fear of American healthcare? Well Mr. D's kidneys obviously decided I needed help with this on Friday night.

After a terrible week, which started with Mr. D being taken off a plane in Chicago by paramedics after a flight of incredible kidney stone pain, rushing to A&E (or as they call it here Emergency Services), and a week in a hotel hoping that the pain would get better..........on Friday night he flew home, things got bad again and the whole family ended up in our local A&E department, despite him having taken the painkillers prescribed to him in Chicago, but that were just not touching the pain.

We didn't get home until nearly 3am. We're all a little tired now. But, for the time being the new, more powerful painkillers they've given him seem to be working.....plus he doesn't have to move anywhere significant now (as movement sets the pain off) like going to have to get food when he was in the hotel in Chicago.....we can look after him at home.

And I now understand a bit more how emergency healthcare works....which I would tell you about but I'm dire need of a cup of tea and some toast, so I'll have to tell you about it all another time.

Related articles

Tempest's 2013 Oscars Watchalong - Best Actress category

What's happening in Tempest's Sewing Lair (and beyond) this week

Real Steel (Tempest's 2012 Oscars Watchalong)

 

 

First off: do you see that quote up there? "It's Rocky with Robots". No. No, it's not. Rocky is one of my all-time top 10 movies. This movie is not Rocky. I'll explain why not in a bit.

So, having watched as many of the Oscar nominated documentary features as I've been able to find (yet), I've moved onto some of the lesser nominated movies up for technical categories. What you find is that there are the big 10 or so that have nominations for best picture, best actor or actress that tend to get quite a few other category nominations. Then there are the 'less worthy, more populist' or the 'arty' movies that get into the list of 61 films with nominations with single chances at winning a statuette. If you want a list of all 61 movies nominated, click here for Tempest's 2012 Oscars Watchalong checklist.

I'm starting with the best visual effects nominees - I've already seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 (and will post my thoughts about it and it's 2 nominations soon), I'll save watching Hugo for now so I can watch it against the others up for best picture.....which leaves me to watch Real Steel, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Transformers: Dark of the Moon in a batch over the next few days. They're all currently on dvd, to buy or rent on iTunes and On Demand via digital tv.

So Real Steel. This is the first movie of the whole Oscars nominated batch that I've watched with someone else. This time Goth Child (14, brain of a planet, loves action movies) watched it with me. Her verdict: "Awesome!" Why GC? "Because it's got violence in it!" Sometimes I despair about my children. Being a total anime/manga/fan fiction and gaming freak she also liked the many references too these, which were references that went way over my head.

Me? I thought it was an ok movie. I thought it was going to be bad. It wasn't. It was a nice, family, sentimental movie......with fighting robots.

There are bad points:

• a seriously terrible Russian accent from a lady 'baddie' which is really surprising because the actress actually was born in Russia. If you've ever heard me do my Dick Van Dyke cockeney....it's as bad as that
• the mix of dialogue and musical backing was totally out (if you know me you'll know this is a pet peeve of mine, especially in the most recent series of Doctor Who)
• a bit where I wanted to grab the kid and send him to his room for possibly the most annoying act of precociousness I've ever seen in a movie since Veruca Salt
• and yet, it's not until the kid enters the movie that it gets interesting, the start is very slow
• some unbelievable u-turn changes in attitude from the kid's aunt
• oh, and there are some incredibly dark bits in the film. I'm guessing it was released as a 3D movie and that's why at certain points, even with my brightness turned full up I found it difficult to see what was happening.

And also, let's address the 'it's Rocky with Robots' thing. As I say it's not. I love boxing movies, and in particular most of the Rocky set. This isn't Rocky. There are many reasons I could give you to prove my point but the most essential is in real boxing movies they let you experience much of the art inside the ring. You get to see action, often with the most poignant moments slowed down or repeated.....the boxing matches in The Fighter last year were beautifully choreographed. And they're not dominated by the commentary over the top, like here to product-place the ESPN team. In Real Steel we got a very jumpy montage of the fight.....because what the director was more interested in showing was the breakdown and growing anger of the rival robot's creator. There were a few flickers during the movie that ATOM, the hero robot (who I didn't work out wasn't called ADAM until they spelt his name out, I do sometimes find American hard to understand), might be our Rocky but I won't spoil them for you in case you decide to watch....but to be honest, if anyone is Rocky, it's Hugh Jackman's character whose character development won't be a surprise to anyone who's ever watched a movie before.

HOWEVER, despite all of this, it's not a bad movie and has enough redeeming sections to have made it a watchable Friday night film......that 14 year olds may well think awesome. (I'm also bearing in mind that I've got Transformers: Dark of the Moon to come and seeing as I didn't make it through all of the 2nd Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, I don't have great hopes for it).

My scoring:

Would I recommend it to others to watch?  Possibly, if they've got teenagers who like action movies

Would I watch it again?  Probably not

What did I think about the visual effects? They were very good, I was impressed

Goth Child's verdict: Awesome!

What score would I give it out of 10?  7

 

 

If you've watched Real Steel, tell me what you think. Am I being overly harsh? Did you love it?

By the way, if you like making models like I do, the Real Steel movie website has some great paper model printables you could try:

 

Hell and Back Again (Tempest's 2012 Oscars Watchalong)

 

 

This is the third of the 3 films in the documentary feature Oscars category that I've been able to source (click here for my thoughts on If A Tree Falls and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory). I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to find Pina (which has the added complication because I think it's a 3D) or Undefeated (not to be confused with 'The' Undefeated....I'm so glad I'm not having to watch the Sarah Palin documentary). But I'll keep trying. If you want to see all the films nominated for Oscars this year, here's a link to a Google Docs list I'm using: Tempest's 2012 Oscars Watchalong).

This movie starts in territory that I thought I'd seen before with last year's Restrepo, and I think I'll keep referring back to that as it was my favourite doc up for an Oscar in 2011. A Marine unit fighting in Afghanistan, being pushed the furthest south of any of the US army.....having to cope with fighting the Taliban.....and dealing fairly and respectfully with the local people who get caught in the cross-fire of the fighting through no fault of their own.

The difference is that nearly half of the film also deals with Sergeant Nathan Harris on his return to his wife Ashley and his South Carolina home severely wounded after an ambush near the end of his third tour of duty. Nathan admits that he joined the Marines because he wanted to kill people, he says this with no irony, this is aim in life....and he wants to get over his injuries so he can return to the front again.

It's strange because the clips of the soldiers fighting in Afghanistan seemed less unreal than his fight back home, possibly because the director uses some very cinematic techniques and intercuts....when he's sitting in a car in the USA clearly in intense pain, the viewer hears the soundtrack of a fight back in Afghanistan, almost as if these are the sounds he hears in his head all the time (I don't think he tells us this is happening at any point, but it's not hard to imagine it to be true). When a doctor talks to him about the side-effects of some of the incredibly powerful painkillers he's on (but that still not cope with the pain) the sound of him talking fades in and out as if to imply Nathan is either woozy or having difficulty concentrating. There's some clever use of cutting from the homelife to the warzone....opening a door in South Carolina and bursting through on a frightened Afghan family back in the war. Possibly the bit I found most disturbing footage of him playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 jumping into what really happened.

All of this slickness and cinematic editing does at times make you question if everything at home is as real as it seems....Nathan has a fascination with guns and enjoys pointing them at his wife and friends, sometimes because of the slickness of the editing I did wonder how much of this was for the cameras....or even possibly staged.

However, I did take the film on its merits and found it incredibly powerful. It doesn't have the foreboding or claustraphobia of Restrepo, but seeing a young man struck down by a war he totally believes in has made me think and question my views about how this nation and my homeland deals with people returning to start, as Nathan calls it, their Battle with Peace. I also liked the more sensitive viewing of the Afghan people and meetings with their town elders - I cannot imagine what it must be like to be forced out of my home at short notice, to live by a river with no shelter, sick children, and seeing my crops destroyed etc just because you're caught in the middle of a warzone.

Part of me wishes that other documentaries I've heard so many good things about - Senna and Cave of Forgetten Dreams - had been nominated, because I seriously want to watch them, and I will, though perhaps in March. However, unless I manage to get hold of the final 2 that were nominated, of the 3 that I have watched, Hell and Back Again possibly nudges its way past Paradise Lost 3:Purgatory as my hope for the statuette, despite my concerns that some of it isn't quite as real as it looks (and I may be totally wrong on this). 

My scoring:

Would I recommend it to others to watch?  Yes

Would I watch it again?  Yes

What score would I give it out of 10?  9

 

If you've watched Hell and Back Again, let me know what you think.......and which movie up for Best Documentary Feature should get the Oscar this year!

If A Tree Falls: A Story Of The Earth Liberation Front (Tempest's 2012 Oscars Watchalong)

 

 

I thought having watched Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, I should watch next one of the other films nominated for Best Documentary Feature.

Netflix have 2 up for instant streaming If A Tree Falls: A Story Of The Earth Liberation Front and Hell And Back Again.

I'd seen some tweets about If A Tree Falls saying people were really glad it has been nominated so I started with this one.

It's an interesting film, giving the background to the Earth Liberation Front with interviews from members, members' families, and the law enforcers who eventually got the leaders of the group in a massive operation and raid (I'm not giving away spoilers, the movie starts with the arrest of the main focus).

What's very good about the film is that it gets you thinking about your own connections with the planet, how far you'd go for something you passionately believed in and what exactly qualifies as 'terrorism'.

It's major selling point as a documentary is how even-handed and balanced it is. My viewpoint altered several times during the film, from thinking those involved were just thugs and vandals to having some sympathy, to listening to the points of views of the law enforcers......I'm not totally sure where I stand at the end of it all - it's made me think and I don't yet have a conclusion. Some of the pictures of police brutality on essentially peaceful protesters in the early 90s though were quite horrific and seemed all the more poignant seeing the treatment of the Occupy Movement recently.

As a piece of art, the film is in no way as slick as Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory and the filmmakers haven't had to deal with as much source material. I did worry at the start of the film that I would have to cope with the linking narration from Marshall Curry all the way through (who's voice I did find a little grating, so sorry), but luckily he was just establishing some of the background to Daniel McGowan's case (a member of the ELF arrested). I also wasn't as compelled to watch the film in one go.....I did break it up into several watchings so I could get on with some sewing and ferrying children around.

Whether or not you agree with the politics and action taken by the ELF shown in this film, it is still very interesting to see the real people and the reasons why they felt driven to such extremes. They don't come across as the media-stereotypes of eco warriors, they do seem pretty normal....up until the point where they discuss building fire bombs and planning 'actions'. The movie does give us access to a world not many of us would otherwise have a chance to question.

My scoring:

Would I recommend it to others to watch?  Possibly, especially if they show an interest in green living and recycling etc.

Would I watch it again?  No, probably not

What score would I give it out of 10?  6

 

If you watch If A Tree Falls, let me know what you think about it!

 

 

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