Saw a guy on Meadowlands, an area hit bad by the July 1 flooding, running up to people putting out debris. Handing out cards. I admire your hustle. There is plenty of carpet to be pulled up, plenty of soaked furniture to get to the curb. I hope it works out for you.
I was chatting with someone today who rents, were impacted by the flood and didn’t know about tenant insurance. This might suck big time for them.
For anyone not familiar with how this works: the landlord has insurance on the home, but not the tenants’ possessions or temporary accommodation.
As tenants, we buy our own insurance for our belongings. That insurance can also cover our temporary living expenses to get accommodations elsewhere.
I hope folks are ok out there. The flood is brutal on a lot of folks. Anyone without sufficient insurance is in for a lot of headaches.
More than 100 mm (4”) of rain on Canada Day in Ottawa. My partner had a fun drive home.
I am a one-person business. The business must have a mailing address, not a post office box. I don't want my home address publicly available as the business address. Clients do not come here, though I work from here. There are various services listed online that provide a business address for a monthly fee. Is anyone using any of these? The one called iPostal1 looks to be based at Staples on Merivale.
I’ve hemmed and lengthened pants and sleeves during the past few decades, but have not sewed any articles of clothes from scratch. I saw a gorgeous patchwork jacket on Pinterest (second from final pic), reverse image searched to find the creator (Mira Blackman), learned it was made from mud cloth (hand dyed fabric from Mali), and found a woman-owned business that sold me their mud cloth scraps.
I bought a kimono-style jacket pattern on Etsy. The shop was well reviewed, but the pattern had zero reviews (my bad).
Testing the pattern before using the precious mud cloth seemed like a good idea. For the test, the patchwork fabric was sewed from old jeans, a pillowcase and two shirts.
Learning to tape together a printed PDF pattern was new (none of this existed 30 years ago). A new rotary cutter and mat are lovely additions to my kit, but I used the same pins I’ve had for 45 years (they are getting a little dull at this point). Then cut out the pattern and patchwork fabric and started sewing.
There was some user error. Ok, a lot of user error as I got the sewing cobwebs out. YouTube and this group were both a huge help. But there were also pattern issues. Lesson learned on buying a pattern with no reviews. Ditched the first pattern.
Bought a second pattern (Chore Jacket by LaurelsApron). Rebuilt more patchwork fabric. Six spools of thread and five broken denim needles later…. the test jacket is done! I’m so pleased. The extra rows of stitching on the wide collar really work (final pic). Wore it to an in-person meeting. It’s oversized, as the LaurelsApron picture showed it would be, and I’ll probably make a smaller size next time.
It’s time to take on the “real” project with mud cloth.
My watch captured my heart rate the moment my dogs ran in from the backyard reeking of skunk. They rubbed themselves against bedding. Because of course. And, of course, these things happen at night when the stores are closed.
I bathed them in 1 quart hydrogen peroxide, 1/4C baking soda, and 1 tsp dish soap. From experience, that works far better than any of the store-bought remedies. Did not wet the dogs with water first. Let the solution sit from 5 mins then rinse. Dip a washcloth in the solution to carefully clean around the dog’s eyes and moth.
But what to do about the bedding the dogs rubbed against? Huge yay for this sub!! I already had what I needed. EcoMax Sport (unscented), Resolve and ammonia. Heavy wash, hot water, and two rinses. Came clean! No masking fragrance (though Resolve isn’t entirely fragrance-free), just clean.
Thank you to everyone who’d contributed to those past discussions! I didn’t have time to wait for new answers to a new post. Being able to search the group was a lifesaver.
Pic 4 is of Dori and Skye, my two rescued pups. Despite being forced to have a bath, they would do it again.
Hello! Any suggestions for where to get kaffir lime leaves and candlenut in Nepean? For a Malaysian lamb dish. These items can be found on Somerset, but am hoping for local. I've checked Green Fresh on Merivale a few times, but no luck (or I'm looking in the wrong aisle?).
Who else displays their donation count? I’m at 49 (50th tonight). There are other complications I could use there (heart rate would be handy), but it’s a great reminder to ensure my next donation appointment is scheduled.
Posted with Mod permission (thank you!).
Don is a husband, father of two, and just about the most loyal friend you could have. Don and my husband ran a renovation business side-by-side for more than a decade (now closed). He's just 41 and in a cancer battle. In the weeks ahead, Don will face a powerful treatment that will knock out his immune system and he'll receive a stem cell transplant (of his own cells). Our dear friend will also need blood transfusions.
Please help us replenish the blood supply on Tuesday, May 26, 5-6 p.m, at the Canadian Blood Services at 1575 Carling. You can also join our team in the app and donate on a different date and time. You can join the team and donate platelets or plasma (as I will) instead of blood. Your contribution will still count.
To join the team:
You can also click here https://myaccount.blood.ca/en/join-team/FRES0130734 to go directly to the Fresh Reno team.
If coming May 26 doesn't work for you, or if you'd prefer to donate plasma or platelets instead of blood, you can still join the team and make a donation when it works for you. You can join the team and then book an appointment as you normally would. The app will still show that you donated for Don.
Questions about your eligibility to donate? Visit www.blood.ca or call 1 888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283).
Questions about joining our team? Drop them in the comments below.
A huge thank you to everyone for spreading the word and joining us to replenish the supply. Don is one example of the thousands of people who need blood every year.
After spending two weekends making patchwork fabric, I’m heartbroken that this jacket isn’t working.
I’m back to sewing after 30 years. Downloaded a PDF pattern, checked the scale, and cut out my size. Surprisingly, even though I’m 170 lbs and have a 37” chest, I’m an XXS in this pattern. It’s from a well reviewed Etsy site but this pattern doesn’t have any reviews.
The sleeve attachment doesn’t look right to me (but it’s also entirely possible that I’ve forgotten how they are supposed to look). It looks like the sleeve piece isn’t big enough? (See pic)
What would you troubleshoot? Add more patches to make the sleeve “fabric” bigger and cut a bigger size? Add a strip of fabric at the armpit? Scratch this pattern entirely and download one that has reviews?
The seller is responsive and says the pattern worked in their trials. They also advised that the size chart is for the finished garment measurement, not body measurement.
It’s my first project in decades. I’ve been so excited to work on it, and now I just want to cry.
It’s 100% possible that I’ve made a mistake and this is completely my fault.
