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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 7 to 31 of 31. Go back in thread:
Posted by karen_kay on April 2, 2004, at 20:07:36
In reply to Re: Venus figures » Racer, posted by gabbix2 on April 2, 2004, at 18:50:50
just have to tell gabbi how much i adore her!! that's all... (oh, and it's nice to see her name on the site too.. i'm sure that's one thing we can ALL agree on....) now, please continue...
Posted by Jai Narayan on April 3, 2004, at 11:23:51
In reply to Re: Venus figures » Racer, posted by gabbix2 on April 2, 2004, at 18:50:50
I was once a skinny blond 18 year old and I gotta tell you I am way past that now.
I am now a full bodied 56 year old.
I am distressed by all the images of women that are now popular.
A friend just sent me an article on the preoccupation of being under weight for women these days.
How our (in the states) models are now 18% thinner than their counter parts in the 1960's.
We in the US are the most over fed country and we are dealing with diabetes and heart disease and then our magazines show women who are 18% thinner...I see what you are saying about women looking like young boys....
We have been moving in that direction since "Twiggy".
I like to look at the European images...some of them are women with real full bodies and they seem to celebrate their bodies.
We can do that too.
I celebrate my full, healthy, aging body!I appreicate your going into this topic.
I thought what you shared was important. Thanks.
Posted by tabitha on April 3, 2004, at 13:40:04
In reply to skinny 18 year old, posted by Jai Narayan on April 3, 2004, at 11:23:51
Weight acceptance is a good thing. I remember when I was 18-ish my hips measured 33.5 inches and I thought my butt looked fat. Those days are long gone, thank goodness. The good thing about carrying more weight is that my bust finally gets up to A cup. Ever try to shop for a size 36 sub-A cup bra? Don't bother, because such a thing doesn't exist. Yet if I gain too much, my waist seems to grow disproportionate to the rest of me, and what little feminine shape I have disappears. A small bust and a big belly is not a good look. So I try to hover somewhere above too thin, and below too fat for my shape. I always think women look great with extra pounds if they have a voluptuous shape, but I don't.
Posted by gardenergirl on April 3, 2004, at 13:58:51
In reply to Mine's more like jupiter, posted by Slinky on April 1, 2004, at 22:35:14
Posted by Jai Narayan on April 4, 2004, at 9:11:48
In reply to Re: skinny 18 year old, posted by tabitha on April 3, 2004, at 13:40:04
> Weight acceptance is a good thing. I remember when I was 18-ish my hips measured 33.5 inches and I thought my butt looked fat.
*That cracked me up. My waist is the size your hips were.....yeks!
But I am on a diet and losing weight very slowly....I am in a snail race.
I have the shape of a pear....More like the Venus statue...you know the plump one.I exercise everyday, eat good food, stopped snacking on chocolates (even though they were health food chocolates...yum), I gave up coffee and eat very little wheat....bloat-o-rama.
I am drinking Green Tea.
Oh and by the way Good Morning.
Posted by shar on April 4, 2004, at 15:05:01
In reply to skinny 18 year old, posted by Jai Narayan on April 3, 2004, at 11:23:51
You are 56???? My age????? I thought you were in your 20's!!! lolol--You must be thoroughly young at heart.
I like the term full-bodied...makes us sound like a good wine.
Ruben had the right idea.
Shar
Posted by Jai Narayan on April 4, 2004, at 19:24:02
In reply to Jai????????, posted by shar on April 4, 2004, at 15:05:01
I like that, we are like a good wine...you know at our age we would cost a pretty penny....
I love red wine.
I drink you in like my favorite wine.
Posted by Racer on April 5, 2004, at 0:27:51
In reply to Jai????????, posted by shar on April 4, 2004, at 15:05:01
I said something about being middle aged, and she did that, "tsk, oh now..." thing and I said, "Hey - statistically my life expectancy is between 75 and 80; biblically I've got three score years and ten coming my way -- I don't really plan to live past 100 and anyway I have ACHIEVED middle age. Why on earth would I want to be 20 again? So that I could be too insecure to speak my mind?" She got it, because she's a great vet which means she's a great person.
I, personally, might be a good Cabernet. Although I am California born, so does that make me a Zinfindel? (I don't care for Zinfindels, so find a way for me to be something else, 'K?) Maybe a Port, since I'm full-bodied?
And for whoever posted about being large bellied and flat busted: try being very full busted and full bellied. On the weightier drugs, I look almost exactly like Henry VIII... When I gain weight, I can't find bras, either: they don't make them that big. Of course, when I'm in my "can I just disappear?" state, like now, I can't find bras because my band size is too small, so I guess it's just a matter of taking parts of me from all stages and sewing them together...
(Raise your hand if you saw the movie Frankenhooker? {{shudder}} Time Life Home Surgery Series...)
Posted by tabitha on April 5, 2004, at 11:13:01
In reply to LOL! I just had this conversation with my vet! » shar, posted by Racer on April 5, 2004, at 0:27:51
Hey Racer, I've recently taken up sewing. Theoretically one can sew bras from scratch, so anyone can get a perfect fit. I'm thinking of salvaging some cups off ones that fit and making bands to match. (if I find cups small enough, the bands are usually too small) But now I'm still at the level of sewing t-shirts with sleeves that are long enough.
It's kind of liberating, to quit thinking my body isn't the 'right' proportions. Instead, it's the garment manufacturers who arbitrarily limit their sizes to some supposed average. I saw an article in a sewing magazine on fitting jeans to any body.. they featured plus-size women getting perfect custom-fit jeans. They looked great in them. I swear it nearly brought a tear to my eye, since so much of my body non-acceptance has happened in fitting rooms.
Posted by Racer on April 5, 2004, at 19:52:28
In reply to Re: bras.. and other garments.. » Racer, posted by tabitha on April 5, 2004, at 11:13:01
I sew, too, so I know what the problems are with getting a good fit. It's why the $150 jeans are usually a better fit than the $15 jeans. Curved seams are much harder to sew, so the manufacturers eliminate as many curves as they can leaving us with pants that don't fit anyone very well. (Don't get me started on this one -- I'm built a little differently so it's a major issue. Cheap suits look crappy on me, so I always had to buy the expensive suits. Good incentive to sew, but really hard in a lot of other ways.)
(Oh, especially hard since I have very high standards for clothes in general, and am a bit ashamed to wear home made clothes, even if they don't scream Loving Hands At Home to anyone except me.)
Was that article in Threads, by any chance? I just got that back issue out to check over again, because I'm sitting here in size 12 jeans that might fit - if I weren't down to a size 6 again... My husband says we can't afford to buy me new ones, so I told him I may have to send him out to pick up a pattern for me. Of course, that gets me back into the whole depression thing, since I do say to myself, "Well, I don't really need new jeans, since I never leave the house anyway..." On the other hand, I'm so embarrassed by the way my clothes don't fit that I wouldn't leave the house this way, anyway... You see the problem, right? I did get out my sewing machine recently, though, to start doing something about having something that fits. Four new tops, so far, and a length of black silk noil that will eventually be a pleated skirt -- once I figure out how to get it pleated right. I've basted in the pleats on all three lengths, but miscalculated, so I had to take out all the basting on one length and really don't quite have it in me to rebaste right now. Still, wanting something that fits might be good incentive...
Good for you for sewing. It's a good thing to know how to do, since you really can get a better fit than anything most of us can afford.
Posted by tabitha on April 5, 2004, at 23:58:59
In reply to Re: bras.. and other garments.. » tabitha, posted by Racer on April 5, 2004, at 19:52:28
Wow! An actual sewer! You're only the 2nd one I know. The jeans fitting article was in the last Threads, whatever is the one before the current one. I think the cover was about adding godets to skirts.
I'm determined not to let that homemade look stop me from wearing my creations. I'm making tops from t-shirt knit, and the only stitch I can get to work on the hems is zig-zag. You never see that on RTW. Wanted to use a twin needle on the hems, but can't find one for stretch knits, and the one I got for wovens skips stitches like crazy. I did find one online from a diaper sewing store. Yes, a special online store for supplies for sewing diapers.
I don't have a great choice of fabrics either. I'm trying for 'so odd it might look hip' since that's the selection at the stores in my town. The good part is it's cheap. So I got a jersey knit with cakes and pies printed all over it, one that's lime green with leopard print, one with giant ears of corn, and one with retro roadtrip print. And a couple plain black ones, since that's pretty much what I usually wear. I learned it's no fun sewing black fabric with black thread, so I used white thread. Now my top has zig-zag contrast hems. And keep in mind I'm a newbie so my stitiching isn't super straight. It says 'made with love' to me though. Or at least it says 'I had fun sewing this'.
I'm still fiddling with the hems and fit on my t-shirts, then I'm going to tackle some sheer nylon eyelet print. Planning a lettuce edge for that one.
Posted by noa on April 6, 2004, at 9:22:43
In reply to Re: other garments.. » Racer, posted by tabitha on April 5, 2004, at 23:58:59
I admire you sewers so much!!!!
I think there are other sewing babblers. Ilene sews and I *think* Coral, too, if I'm remembering from way back when.
Me? My mom tried to teach me the basics like hems and such, but for me, being precise and measuring are just frustrating, and I used to have little sewing tantrums because I'd get so frustrated. My mom sewed a little on the machine, making easy patterns like wrap-around skirts, curtains, throw pillow covers, etc. But she didn't keep up with it much, either, and just went back to using sewing for altering and mending, either by machine, or by hand, which is what she learned from her mom.
The only things I sew now are buttons, and the occasional mending of a loose hem or seam. Once in a blue moon, I've done a makeshift hem to shorten sleeves, but that is pretty easy because I do it the junky way by just doubling up whatever hem is already there, and not doing any measuring and certainly not any cutting. Since the circumference of a sleeve at the wrist is small, the amount that I could veer off course is small, too!
Posted by tabitha on April 6, 2004, at 9:35:39
In reply to Re: Sewers, posted by noa on April 6, 2004, at 9:22:43
I never liked cutting either. My mom would pin the patterns to the fabric and cut around them with scissors. That's hard work somehow. But I discovered the great technological innovation... a rotary cutter and mat. You just put the patterns on top of the fabric, weight them down with quarters or rocks, then whip around the edge with your little razor-sharp pizza-cutter-like thingie. For straight sections, I use a ruler to cut against. Easy as pie.
Posted by Dinah on April 6, 2004, at 9:39:27
In reply to Re: Sewers » noa, posted by tabitha on April 6, 2004, at 9:35:39
You are clearly not hampered by a total lack of physical coordination, or you wouldn't say easy as pie. That rotary cutter has a mind of its own, and with my unsteady hand on the till, plows ahead into the pattern or veers wide. I have the same problem with the blasted computer mouse.
My best sewing work has been doggy diapers, I'm afraid.
Posted by coral on April 6, 2004, at 11:56:31
In reply to Re: Sewers, posted by noa on April 6, 2004, at 9:22:43
Yes, Noa, I sew...
Mostly, it's in self-defense now, lol. Our house is so old that store-bought drapes don't even come close, so everything's custom --- by me own little hand. I'm considering.... *please note considering* ... tackling reupholstering two chairs and a couch.
Coral
Posted by noa on April 6, 2004, at 13:04:00
In reply to Re: Sewers- Noa, posted by coral on April 6, 2004, at 11:56:31
WOW! Reupholstering? That seems very difficult. More power to you, Coral!
Posted by Racer on April 6, 2004, at 14:19:18
In reply to Re: Sewers- Noa, posted by coral on April 6, 2004, at 11:56:31
My aunt has been doing upolstery work since she retired a few years ago -- and she did the SMARTEST thing! She went down to the local adult ed center, and signed up for a class. It's taught at the local community college, and she just signs up for every class she can. That way, she has access to the heavy equipment, which isn't *necessary* but sure does help. You *can* do it without all the compressors, but it's like making pasta without the pasta machine. (Having done it both ways, rolling out the dough by hand is really not worth the effort, but fresh pasta is such a divine creation everyone should make it at least once.)
I sew out of self-defense, too. My waist is up around my armpits, my bust measurement fits two sizes larger than the rest of my body, and I'm just not built for anything sold in any store -- except the custom shops, which don't sell things I want. So, I sew. Of course, it's also because everyone in my family sews. Mother made most of my clothes as a kid, except my winter coats, which Grandma made. Silly me, I thought I must be a princess, in my purple wool coat -- I never knew it was because we were too poor to buy clothes!
And here's part of my pathology: do you know, I'm ashamed to admit that I've made something, even when I think it's turned out well? That's right: I am ashamed of my own accomplishments. How sick is that? When I should be responding to compliments on my clothes with, for example, "Oh, you like this top? Thank you! I made it from some silk noil that had been in my stash for years -- I always knew that it would be right for something someday, and it really did turn out nicely, didn't it?" Instead, I brush it off: "Oh, thank you..." Or, worse yet, "Well, thank you, but I can see the mistakes." And when people say things like, "WOW! You *made* that yourself?" I respond with something like, "Sewing isnt' that hard, it's just applied geometry -- and I"m really not very good at it." Or I point out that my mother taught me to sew before I had enough fine muscle control to thread a needle. She used to thread a needle for me and hand me some felt scraps to sew together. She'd sit at the machine and sew, and I'd sit on the floor next to her and sew those scraps together, wishing I were like her.
When my grandmother died, I was given her sewing supplies. The one thing that really made me feel special - one of the most special things of my entire life -- was finding one of those little felt projects in her case. It was a little sea shell shaped needle book, several layers of felt stitched together at one end, for holding needles. I'd made it for her, with Mother's help, when I was five or six. She still used it, and it still held many needles with little lengths of thread. That meant more to me than I can ever express.
Posted by tabitha on April 6, 2004, at 23:47:16
In reply to Re: Sewers- Noa » coral, posted by Racer on April 6, 2004, at 14:19:18
those are such sweet memories. I got all my mom's sewing supplies after she died. She had a couple hundred spools of thread-- a whole color palette, and they're all wood spools. I didn't sew as a kid but I remember I'd go into her sewing chest and look at all the little tools and the buttons, so I have really early memories of some of the stuff. The one piece missing is her pinking shears. I have no idea what happened to them. I haven't been able to find the same kind at any store. I don't really need them, I just want to have a pair. I just love how little objects like those connect me to childhood memories.
Posted by gardenergirl on April 6, 2004, at 23:49:00
In reply to Re: Sewers- Noa » coral, posted by Racer on April 6, 2004, at 14:19:18
Okay, first, in glancing at this thread, I wondered how we got from talking about body shapes and sizes to talking about "soo-ers", like the storm sewer in my backyard. I guess it pays to actually read the posts.
Anyway, can't sew at all, except a hem or button in desperation. I once tried that fuseable web stuff to make a fabric shade. Cutting it out whas horrible, even though it was essentially a big rectangle. Also, I didn't read the directions enough to note that you start ironing from the CENTER OUT instead of from one end to wherever the iron goes. I ironed a HUGE fold and several wrinkles into it. Pair that with the saggy fabric covered cardboard cornice I made, and it just SCREAMS homemade house decor. (sigh)
Racer, when I was a kid I used to write poetry. I made a little poetry book for my Grandma using her typewriter, a novel thing for me (pardon the near-pun). She recently gave it back to me along with other letters and little things I had written. What a talented little goof-poet I was. Having this back means a lot to me, too--that she saved them and wanted me to be able to look back. I always got a lot of praise from her about my writing. (So maybe I should have her help me with my dissertation??? :)
Take care all,
gg
Posted by coral on April 7, 2004, at 17:27:33
In reply to Re: Sewers- Noa » coral, posted by Racer on April 6, 2004, at 14:19:18
What??? Take a class? Actually learn how to do something before diving in? Why, if I did that sort of thing, I'd have missed destroying my kitchen floor one sunny afternoon. The tile was old.... gray, ugly, and I thought a firm cleansing would be appropriate. (The tiles were white and red.) I bought the strongest cleanser I could find but it didn't work. So, I bought an industrial cleanser and it didn't work. So, I rented the "novice" floor cleaner machine and it didn't work. So, I rented the industrial model floor cleaner and some pure form of cleanser guaranteed to clean anything. Well..... my WH was watching this progression of repeated trips to the hardware store, and rental place(undoubtedly he was also watching some sporting event on television). At this point, I was exhausted, slumped to the floor to rest and watched as the kitchen floor liquefied. Never having taken chemistry, I didn't realize the time necessary for a chemical reaction to occur. Turns out the white tiles were actually gray tiles. Whoever heard of a gray-red checkerboard flooring?? Aside from the massive dips in the floor, it's now a rather interesting swirling configuration. It only took it a week to completely dry into its new topography.
Now, just how much trouble could I get into simply reupholstering?
Coral
Posted by shar on April 10, 2004, at 0:14:04
In reply to Re: other garments.. » Racer, posted by tabitha on April 5, 2004, at 23:58:59
lololol!!!!!!!
OK, I have missed a few days here, AND been trying to deal with landscaping when one has a septic system (not 'city wastewater service'), and saw this and thought it was about 'wastewater disposal.'
Maybe it does not tickle you all that much, but, I thought it was hilarious when I clicked on the thread.
My sewing. Well, my sister can sew without a pattern, she just visualizes the garment and it happens. Me...another story. EVEN with a pattern, I have (on alternate occasions):
==cut too many of one thing;
==cut too few of one thing (and seldom had the fabric left to make it right);
==cut the appropriate number of things but sewed it backwards so the snaps ended up on one side...which was the side upon which the nasty hemming part showed.Obviously, even after lessons, my spatial ability is lacking in some way (I'm sure the ladies here know why), and I simply cannot construct a wearable garment. However, since I mainly have sewn on costumes, it tends not to matter. My area is about the 1500's. Other than that, I've actually completed, on my own, one apron with a pocket AND a thingy I sewed on by hand upon it.
Anyways...thanks for the chuckle!
Shar
Posted by tabitha on April 10, 2004, at 9:24:21
In reply to Sewers/Septic Systems, posted by shar on April 10, 2004, at 0:14:04
I got confused too, because I was posting about plumbing problems earlier in another thread. Saw this one and thought it was that one. But it was a pleasant surprise, because I'd much rather talk about sewing than plumbing problems.
Shar, you made an apron? With a pocket with a thingie? How special! I'll bet you wear it every day. The 1500s costumes must be, well, complicated right? Like Shakespeare stuff? I'm making t-shirts. I did have a cutting problem on one, ended up with a little slice at the back neck, and no more fabric to avoid the part with the slice, so I just sewed it up. I was quite proud of my impromptu darning technique.
Posted by gardenergirl on April 10, 2004, at 11:31:34
In reply to Re: Persons Who Sew » shar, posted by tabitha on April 10, 2004, at 9:24:21
Posted by noa on April 10, 2004, at 14:18:10
In reply to Sewers/Septic Systems, posted by shar on April 10, 2004, at 0:14:04
Yes, it DID make me chuckle!!! Now that I look at the thread, the whole thing makes me chuckle because it does look like it's about sewers and septic tanks and maybe even clogged drains like another thread was about.
Shar--it is good to see you in such energy!
Posted by shar on April 13, 2004, at 1:23:14
In reply to Re: Sewers/Septic Systems » shar, posted by noa on April 10, 2004, at 14:18:10
This is the end of the thread.
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