WTPD

Soon, I will share a post detailing what exactly it is I do for a living - Appellate Defending.  I am not a public defender, although we are closely related and our clients are the same people, just at different stages in their case.  But I don't feel like writing that post today.  Instead, I will share one of my favorite Tumblr blogs with you so that you can enjoy a good laugh today.  And maybe learn a little bit about those of us on this side of justice.

So here is What the Public Defender - the life of a 20-something PD trying to navigate the justice system without killing anyone.

Enjoy and Happy Friday!

Learning to Sew

So if any of you follow me on Pinterest (which I know a lot of you do), you have probably noticed that while most of you are pinning adorable Christmas decorations, recipes and crafts, I have been pinning sewing tips, sewing blogs, sewing tutorials and sewing pattern wish lists.

I have always wanted to sew.  My mom can sew.  She learned in the 7th grade and then re-taught herself when she was living the fabulous single gal life in D.C. after grad school.  Sometimes we would sew together as a I got older.  In middle school, I really wanted some new skirts. We went to Hancocks, picked out a pattern, fabrics and other tools.  When we got home, we sat in the basement and cut out the pattern size and sewed together.  It was a lot of fun.  

So fast forward a few years, and I asked for a sewing machine for my birthday.  Its a basic machine but it does everything I want it to do.  

 

The Brother LX2500 and my newest best friend!

 And I signed up for a Basic Sewing course at the local community college.  And I LOVE IT!  I am having a so much fun.  Our instructor, Ms. Edna, is so old-school.  We learned about pattern selection, pattern layout, pattern alterations.  It's an 8 week class and we are making a dress.  This dress to be exact.  I am making the scoop neck with quarter length sleeves.  Stay tuned for its debut in a few weeks.

 

 But I wanted to go ahead and get started.  I am having so much fun but I didn't have the patience to wait until the end of of my class to spread my wings and sew on my own.

So, on Veterans Day, I bought a Sew Simple Apron pattern, fabric from the remnant bin and went to work.  I was pretty pleased with the results.   Before I did anything, I watched a ton of videos from Professor Pincushion to work up my confidence.  I had never even thread my bobbin before.  But I did it, from start to finish.  

I learned valuable lessons.  I am happy with the way my first project turned out.  I messed up on the rick rack a lot bit but overall, it was great.  And fun.

Ta Da!

Now I am working on this skirt.  I love the shape of it.  I think it is a great winter skirt.  I hope to finish it by Friday.

I really love the design!

 I want to keep sewing.  The biggest challenge is making it affordable and economical.  To do that, you have to buy your fabric when its on sale, and a build up a stash.  You might not use it right away, but just wait for it.  Its also important to buy your other supplies while on sale. And never overlook Walmart.

So stay tuned. I'll be sharing a lot of projects.

A New Day...

You all know that I blogged with Chris on A Thin Red Line.  But I have decided to step back and share this blog instead.  There are a lot of things that interest me beyond being one of Susan’s parents.  Like my new adventures in sewing.  Or working as a lawyer on behalf of convicted felons.  And if you know me at all, you’ll understand the title of the blog as another main interest of mine. I wear many hats all day long and this is my new space to share.  Enjoy!