Sunday, September 9, 2012

Tailoring Class: First Demo - Hand Sewing

Summer is truly over when you have to go back to school (teardrop), but that means Fall is just around the corner waiting to sprinkle its autumn hues. On week #2 of my tailoring class, the professor introduced us to some hand sewing to give the "couture" touch to our garments. She demonstrated the uneven stitch, even stitch, tailor's stitch, backstitch, prick stitch, Stem Stitch, and blanket stitch. When people would finish some of the hand stitching, she would check how it looks on the back of the wool fabric. Part of her lecture included tips to become more efficient at hand sewing. First, she explained why it's good practice to thread more than one needle with thread length from fingertips to elbow. The "mishap" that occurs- your thread begins to lose its strength the longer it is and possibly lead to you busting out of your seams. I am so guilty of hand sewing with one needle on thread the length of  Rupenzel's hair... lol...No more! She also mentioned that our thread gets more durability and strength when you use beeswax. The darker the beeswax the longer it will last. In my toolbox, I had an assortment of needle sizes which really made it easy to grab the ones I needed. She showed us different types of thimbles and suggested to find one that fits your needs.        

Week #1- Excused Absent

So my traveling buddy and I decided to take a final trip, as I enter a new chapter in my life. We decided to go to Cancun, Mexico to get some culture, sun and cervezas.


We stayed at a small hacienda style hotel with only 22 rooms that you can find on la zona hotelera. The hotel is called Avalon Bacarra.

This is the back of the hotel that faces the beach. The staff were so helpful, courteous, and kind. Everyone goes out of there way to provide the best customer service. There are some pros and cons to staying in a smaller hotel. First of all, the cons- 1) no ramp outside the hotel, thus you tip someone or bring up the luggage step by step; and 2) no elevators, so if you have specific health/physical needs/limits, look somewhere else. Now for the pros- 1) the hotel lobby helps you book your tours if you procrastinated like us; 2) the hotel has a full kitchen that includes a microwave, refrigerator, and stove. 3) the location, it's near two hole in the wall restaurants, across the street are two liquor stores, and the bus stop is only three blocks away.
We went to Tulum...

and Xel-Ha on the same day.

Afterwards, we rested and took the city bus to the city. We ended up at Carlos and Charlie's...

On Sunday, we went to Chitchen-Itza...

This picture shows people actually climbing the temple. This is no longer allowed. We were told they had a problem with graffiti. However, the only time that some people will let you climb the temple is before 5am or after 5pm, with no cameras.
We ended our trip with cervezas, breakfast, and tanning at the beach...

Mucha tristeza sabiendo que tenia que trabajar el proximo dia. I did not want to leave Cancun.