Extreme....cuteness....restoring optimism...

< /captainkirkvoice >

Well, I made the mistake this morning - as I often do - of switching on the world news to see what was up. It was the usual litany of people doing bad stuff to other people (Now With Burning Embassies!). And as is often my response, I found myself thinking, what's the point in exercising or striving to get those five vegetable servings a day, if the world's going to blow up next week?

But then, this afternoon, while taking a break from reading "The Rose's Kiss" (which really is an excellent book - several facts I've encountered in it have made me spontaneously exclaim "oh, that's awesome!" or "that'ssocool!" even though I'm the only one in the room), I switched on Animal Planet.

And, lo and behold, it is the Puppy Bowl.

This is a simple but brilliant concept: make a small "arena" that resembles a football stadium. Put green indoor-outdoor carpeting on the bottom, etc. Then add some toys and a bunch of puppies. Train a few cameras on it. (I especially like the "bowl cam" - a camera stationed under the clear glass bottom of a water bowl). Film it and broadcast it with a little simple commentary but mostly music.

And the "Kitty Halftime Show" - I have not squealed like that since I was 12. So much cute. I could not take my eyes off the kitty halftime show.

I know it's a simplistic thing to believe, but sometimes I think if people took more time to watch baby animals (or other simple and winsome things), the world would be a happier - and possibly less violent - place. (I also feel that that would be the case if more people had creative hobbies).

And speaking of kitties, I did get around to making the kitty pajama pants:



I still have to get a t-shirt to applique kitties on.

I made the larger size in the pattern - which was, I suspected, a size larger than what I needed. I think I'm going to cut the pattern down a size for the panda fabric. (I'm going to make a pair of shorts and a short-sleeve top from the panda fabric).

The pattern is McCall's 3370 if anyone's interested. Super simple - two pattern pieces. No side seams on the legs. (Also, the pattern also includes shorts, a tunic-top with either long or short sleeves, a short top with short sleeves, and a bathrobe).

I used French seams on it. I like French seaming clothes, especially pajamas. The seams are pleasing for three reasons:

they please the luxury-loving part of me because they are like the seams on many tailored clothes; they are more comfortable - no frayed threads or serged edges to irritate the skin.

they please the frugal part of me because there's no fraying - the seams hold better - and ultimately, the garment lasts longer.

they please the obsessive-compulsive part of me because there are no visible raw edges, and no bits of thread to fray off the edges.

I'm actually kind of surprised that the printed patterns sold in this country rarely mention finishing seams AT ALL. There are a couple ways you can do it - zig zag over the edges, which is aesthetically unpleasing but quick, serge the edges which is similar to zigzagging (but more secure) but requires another machine, flat-felled seams which are good on trousers but can be tricky elsewhere, bound edges which are nice but can be involved to do, and French seams (which are my favorite and are what I do when I can - some patterns do not lend themselves well to being French seamed and of course it would be a real PITA to pick out the seam if you made a mistake or needed to refit the garment, and also, French seams are not good on fabric bulkier than a flannel).

But finishing seams, I think, is an important step. It is one of the things that separates hand-tailored (what I'd rather say than "home-sewn") clothes from the stuff you buy at Mart of Wal (well, also the fact that your own hand-tailored clothes are not made by Chinese orphans being paid the equivalent of 40 cents a day...)

I always forget how much fun - and how, ultimately, "instant gratification" (at least compared to making quilts or knitting sweaters) sewing some of my own clothes are.

I'm going to do the panda jammies maybe next weekend, or maybe start on them some evening this week if I have time. For the sheep-fabric jammies, I found I have 4 1/2 yards of the stuff; plenty for a pair of "real" pajamas ("real" = with a top that has a collar and buttons like man-tailored pajamas). My mom's sending me a pajama pattern I had left at their house that fits that description, and I also have to get interfacing before I can do those.

Also, inspired by Puppy Bowl, I started yet another project. Another critter. Almost a year ago now I bought a pattern for a crocheted puppy and the yarn to make it - I think the Hobby Lobby must have had a sample made up and I thought it was cute. Crocheting is also fast - faster for me than knitting, although I crochet in a "nonstandard" way - I hold both the yarn and the hook in my right hand, and hold the work in my left hand - which is fast for me but sometimes my gauge is a bit wonky because of the non-traditional way of holding it. (It doesn't matter for a "critter"). I'm making the medium size puppy using a boucle yarn - and I have to really count, because you can't see stitches in it. But, I'm almost done with the head! And there are three Simpsons on tonight, so I might get a lot more done...


Oh, and more optimism: Mr. F. is going to undergo an aggressive regime of radiation and chemo; apparently the doctors think that will at least buy some time. And this is why I love the congregation I belong to: while waiting for Sunday school to start, three of the retired men in the congregation came up - separately - to Mr. F. and told him "If there's a time when your wife's not up to driving you to the cancer center, give me a call and I'll drive you." So even though there may be horrible things going on in the larger world, there are little pockets of kindness and goodness and humanity out there, you just have to look for them.