DanielMenjivar

DanielMenjivar, 12 days ago to FiberArts

It’s far from done, but I’ve made good progress on setting up my #sewing room with #video cameras, hidden microphones, lights, cabling, USB hubs, etc., including taping cables to the ceiling with white gaffer tape and setting up mounts/arms/tripods in such a way that I can leave everything setup all the time without anything ever getting in the way of actual sewing!

@sewing

🧵 1/3

DanielMenjivar, 12 days ago to FiberArts

What a lovely waste of 20 sheets of card stock!

I was laser #printing a #sewing pattern this afternoon, opened the rear exit to allow the heavy cardstock to come out flatter without having to curve around the rollers when my printer displays an error saying that double-sided printing is disabled this way. Realizing my print settings must have been incorrect, I cancelled the print job and re-printed it, but forgot to select “100% scale” instead of the default "scale to fit”… @sewing

DanielMenjivar, 15 days ago to FiberArts

For the price I paid for this modal #fabric, I expected these t-shirts to last a lot longer than nine months. I could have bought organic cotton for way less!

I babied these #shirts, never put them in the dryer, took good care of them and only wore them when going out, which wasn’t very often.

It’s a lot of #sewing work to have the fabric (not seams) fall apart so soon. I still like them, but they’re now suitable only as pyjama tops, unfortunately. @sewing

Collars on two modal fabric t-shirts when they were in the process of being made nine months ago.
Daniel Menjívar taking a selfie while wearing a freshly sewn grey t-shirt made from expensive modal fabric.

DanielMenjivar, 27 days ago to FiberArts

Over 60 video clips so far and not even halfway done yet… #sewing #YouTube

DanielMenjivar, 30 days ago to FiberArts

Hello @sewing community! Long time no hear from me… Thanks to everyone who sent me DMs asking if I’m OK.

Due to ongoing health stuff, I’ve had to make hard choices about prioritizing how I spend my time, which meant spending a lot less time on Mastodon.

Last month, I was invited to test a new (upcoming) #sewing pattern for which I created a 21-page report.

And this month, I’ve been busy setting up cameras, lights, microphones, etc. for some upcoming #YouTube videos… https://www.youtube.com/DanielMenjivar

DanielMenjivar, 2 months ago to FiberArts

I got lucky today!

I machine basted these pyjama pants for my wife. (Ever since she’s seen mine, she’s wanted a pair. “Doggies!”)

The pattern was one I copied from a pair of fleece (knit) pyjamas, so I was expecting that it would require fitting adjustments if I made them out of woven flannel. No adjustments required, I got lucky!

She wants them as is, (no pockets) but they have no waistband, no hems and are only basted with a 5mm stitch length using orange thread. #sewing @sewing

DanielMenjivar, 2 months ago to FiberArts

Really glad I got this 700-colour Gütermann #thread chart several years ago (now discontinued); it’s made matching thread colours something I can do from home, which is especially helpful on days like today when I can’t go out. Plus, 700 colours is a lot!

Unfortunately Maxi-Lock doesn’t sell a chart like this for their serger thread, they just want to you to buy a pack of all 76 colours. #sewing @sewing

DanielMenjivar, 2 months ago to Toronto

I am out of the house today, for the first time in over a week. Two weeks? More? It’s been so long I can’t remember!

Stopped by Tacos Moras on St. Clair West in #Toronto for a delicious #Mexican Torta. The bun! So good. #food #lunch

Lightly toasted bun with melted cheese, beans, guacamole, carne asada, onions and cilantro.

DanielMenjivar, 2 months ago to random

How long will I be able to suffer with this excruciating pain before I head to the ER and submit myself to needles? Just over an hour so far…

I recognize this pain and symptoms very well, from six years ago when I had to go to the ER via ambulance and ended up having kidney stones. Hoping I can drown myself in lemon water and just pass the stones in urine, but fuck is it ever painful right now!

And why, if I’m normally a very private person, do I feel comforted by sharing this on Mastodon?!

DanielMenjivar, 2 months ago to food

Making some delicious #Mexican red rice for #dinner tonight, and I’m reminded of this YouTube video where a “level 2 chef” makes some weird rice dish similar to a rice pilaf, and calls it risotto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eED0pSMBgfA

Can I call this risotto too, then?! LOL #food #cooking

DanielMenjivar, 3 months ago to FiberArts

It’s not all about the finished product, I actually enjoy the whole process of #sewing!

Here I am, once again, testing various topstitching thread colours against some grey cotton/poly fabric.

In my sewing room with bright lighting, the two gold threads look so similar they’re hard to tell apart. On the dining room table surrounded by lots of natural light, the shinier one looks yellow, while the matte one looks less saturated, almost beige. In the kitchen? Closer to my sewing room. @sewing

Parallel stitches in six different colours on grey poly/cotton fabric on a wood table in my dining room.
Parallel stitches in six different colours on grey poly/cotton fabric on a black granite countertop in my kitchen.

DanielMenjivar, 3 months ago to food

We were supposed to have fish & chips for #dinner last night because I wanted something quick that wouldn’t require too much of my energy to make, since I knew I’d be sewing all afternoon. #seid

When my wife got home from work, she offered to make dinner. Nice!

But then 2½ hours later, I went into the kitchen and saw the oven wasn’t preheated, the box of fish was unopened and she just finished cutting up potatoes into fries.

#Cooking doesn’t come easy to everyone!

DanielMenjivar, 3 months ago to FiberArts

Spent the afternoon cutting out a pattern in my #sewing room. I sew a lot of dark fabrics, so I’m always on the lookout for quality white marking tools.

I recently found some “extra fine” 0.9mm white chalk refills for cartridge pencils by Prym (on Amazon), so also I bought a mechanical pencil and emptied out the graphite to give it a try.

Of all the marking tools I’ve bought for sewing (lots!) this gives the thinnest, most accurate lines. I love it! @sewing

A Pentel brand mechanical pencil, a small plastic Prym-branded white chalk refill container and a thin clear ruler all sit atop grey fabric marked with cutting lines for pyjama pants in white chalk.

DanielMenjivar, 3 months ago to FiberArts

Anyone else in the @sewing community on Mastodon watch Emma Stone’s dress fail on the #Oscars2024 and immediately know why?

I’m such a #sewing geek, I was watching with my wife and I said, “why would they use a #3 invisible zipper on a dress that heavy? They should have a used a #5 invisible zipper, like on wedding gowns!”

Then I rewinded the PVR to see if I was right, and lo and behold, that invisible zipper is indeed way too light for a dress that thick and heavy!

Or am I wrong?

DanielMenjivar, 3 months ago to cooking

Some homemade #cooking leftovers for #lunch today.

Crispy chicken wings with hot honey, leftover pizza and some fresh carrot & celery sticks with blue cheese dip. #food

Super healthy, right?! 🤣

DanielMenjivar, 3 months ago to FiberArts

I pulled off grey sheets & duvet when I got up today and took off a grey t-shirt & pyjamas that I made. After washing up with a grey towel & changing my black underwear to another black pair I made, I stood in front of my closet full of clothes I made and asked, “what shade of grey do I want to wear today? … … …or should I wear black?” Because of course the navy blue pants & shirts I made are much too colourful for my mood! 🤣 @sewing #sewing

My wife @michellemenjivar is all the colour I need. 😘

DanielMenjivar, 3 months ago to FiberArts

Let’s talk about seam guides, @sewing!

What are your favourite seam guides to use when #sewing? Do you use the same one every time, or vary it depending on what you’re sewing? Do you always use a seam guide, or just sometimes? Never? Do you prefer to align w/ the right edge of the presser foot and move the needle position on your domestic sewing machine? Tips? Tricks?

Personally, I try to use mine as much as possible and pick one depending on what I’m sewing (or how long it takes to install).

DanielMenjivar, 3 months ago to random

The GOP did Biden a huge favour during the #sotu by heckling. Without the heckling, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to troll them. #uspol

DanielMenjivar, 3 months ago to cooking

I’m expecting to lose weight this week: my wife is #cooking since I can’t use my left hand/arm. 🤣

You know that couples communication/patience exercise where one person is blindfolded while the other gives instructions? That’s what it felt like in our kitchen this weekend. It went exceptionally well tbh, but extremely time consuming. Only one burnt meal so far!

For this work week, we bought chicken fingers, fries, fish sticks, canned soups and lots of similarly easy-to-make meals.

DanielMenjivar, 3 months ago to FiberArts

For my next pair of linen (pyjama) pants, I’ve narrowed it down to 4 choices for topstitching thread… #sewing @sewing

L to R:

• the darkest grey provides contrast; tex 45 is almost “heavy duty” for garment construction seams but on the thin side for topstitching thread

• sew-all Gütermann is tex 30 so I'd have to double it up for topstitching (a bit annoying)

• lightest grey is tex 80 so best to use it for topstitching only (and something else for construction seams)

• white is also tex 80

DanielMenjivar, 4 months ago to FiberArts

Straight flat felled seat seam neatly pressed with an impeccably consistent width & equidistant topstitching? 👍🏽

Pattern matched pieces? 👎🏽

Win some, lose some. #sewing @sewing

DanielMenjivar, 4 months ago to mastodon

Today is my 1 year #anniversary on #mastodon… How time flies!

DanielMenjivar, 4 months ago to food

Chicken & mushroom penne in a white wine cream sauce for #dinner. #food #cooking #pasta

DanielMenjivar, 4 months ago to cooking

How many #cooking cutting boards do you have at #home?

I grew up in a family of chefs, including my mom, so we always had numerous cutting boards, each for a sole purpose: meat, vegetables, bread, seafood, fruit, etc.

My wife grew up with a stay-at-home mom who was a “terrible” cook, so she remembers only ever having two cutting boards at home: one big, one small, and they were used for everything/anything.

Two polar opposites. How many cutting boards do most people have in their #kitchen?

DanielMenjivar, 4 months ago to FiberArts

Spent the afternoon in my #sewing room, making a pattern out of an existing pyjama top for my wife. I still need to trace out the sleeve, but I’m happy with my progress so far. Slow but steady. @sewing

A large cutting table littered with oak tag pieces and various pattern drafting tools; you can see the front and back pattern pieces close to the front, with the scrunched up pyjama top near the back.