I was intrigued by Erica’s post about Burda patterns not having seam allowances on them, so I dug around and found this:

At some mystery site

“Until a few years ago, Burda patterns were printed without seam allowances. The argument in favor of this policy was that, after tracing the correct size, the pattern was easier to test-fit, because there were no seam allowances to fold back or to get in the way of visualizing the line of the garment. This was quite true. But the absence of seam allowances gave many American seamstresses the heebie-jeebies, so Burda finally caved in and added seam allowances to their American distribution. For those of us preferring the older system, there are a couple of choices. First, we can trace the pattern and then cut OFF the seam allowances to test-fit. Second, we can use the patterns in Burda’s magazines, which still come without seam allowances. Lately, a few of these have been appearing in Burda’s regular pattern catalogue, WITH seam allowances, a month or two after they were published in the magazines.”

At Sewing With Tom

“Burda patterns did not, until recently, include seam allowances, so you would have to add them yourself before cutting. New Burda patterns, which are indicated with a star in the pattern book and which come in paper (rather than plastic) envelopes, include seam allowances. The patterns included with the various Burda pattern magazines do not include seam allowances.”

The way I was taught to mark and draft when I studied in college is all without seam allowances. You trace the pattern piece onto the fabric, those lines become the stitch lines, and you add seam allowances yourself. Not sure if it’s a tradition type of thing, a theatre thing, or if it’s considered better or worse. In high school it was all about pinning those tissue paper patterns right onto the fabric. Now, I don’t think I could go back.

Loobylu’s post about these amazing play houses reminded me of the little A-frame playhouse I had for a year or so (we moved around a bit) when I was wee. In my head, it was the most amazing place ever.

I am so sad to hear of the passing of Fred Rogers (story). “One of Rogers’ red sweaters hangs in the Smithsonian Institution.”

I’m a huge fan of Cockeyed – so I was squealing with joy when I heard Rob Cockerham being interviewed today on All Things Considered (half way down the page, titled ‘How Much Is Inside?’) about his experiments to determine how much is inside of stuff. Yay!

Ever since my fiasco with the hateful Persa Gel I’ve been very good about keeping up a skin care routine, something I haven’t done before. With some help from Paula Begoun’s skin care routines, and a lot of help from you guys (thanks!) this is what I’m current testing:

• wash each morning, evening and sometimes mid day with Cetaphil for oily skin
• put Paula’s Choice 2% beta hydroxy liquid solution (aka salicylic acid) all over my face before bed, and dab on blemish-y areas during the day
• use a facial scrub of baking soda mixed with a little cleanser every 3 or 4 days
• wear DDF Matte Finish Photo-Age Protection SPF 30 every day, this is blissfully free of moisturizing stuff – I’m ridiculously sebaceous (ewwww) and just cannot bear moisturizer
• any moisturizing is done with Paula’s Choice toner for oily skin

So far, I have fewer blemishes, and my skin actually feels smoother. It’s working! I still have horror movie sized pores, I’m hoping that will also start to improve. But, I’ll have to go a few months before I’m sure.

I’m beginning to suspect that if this were a perfect world the only health and beauty products I might need are aspirin and baking soda. The revelation that aspirin = beta hydroxy = salicylic acid is fairly new to me. I take Alka-Seltzer (aspirin, baking soda and citric acid), and aspirin, I use beta hydroxy on my face, baking soda as a facial scrub, and take baths in baking soda to make my skin feel better.

Do you guys use a separate eye makeup remover? I always just used to use Ivory soap, but my new and improved use of Cetaphil doesn’t get off all the mascara. Is an eye makeup remover a rip off? What should I look for? As you can tell, I don’t have any sisters, and most of my friends have been guys, so this girly stuff is new territory for me. Maybe I should start a new site – Lost In The Makeup Aisle.

James Lileks takes a trip through the seduction and disappointment of the Method cleaners – one day he said:

Today at Target I saw a shelf of cleaning supplies that instantly appealed to my superficial desire for novel marketing paradigms. … Are the new fluids better than the old? I don�t know, and I don�t care; what counts is that I open the cupboard, see them arrayed in pristine splendor, and I feel good about my life. I�ll never use them. Once the level of fluid goes down, the entire effect is ruined.

And the next day he said:

An update on the new Target cleaning products described at punishing length last Friday: they�re awful.

Though I do admit I’m using the tangerine kitchen cleanser, I don’t love the way it smells, but it does an ok job.

quidnic has up some really great instructions on making your own knitting needles and topping them with a polymer clay design

Another Girl At Play has been nominated for a Web Award in the Grrl Category at SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas on March 9, 2003. SXSW is a wonderful event, and I have attended for the last few years. It would be great if Alex Beauchamp and Andrea Scher could attend but they need your help – donate to the Another Girl at Play Austin Fund if you can, even a dollar would be put to good use, and they’ll give you a link for life in appreciation. And either way, go vote for the site in the People’s Choice category.

Shortly after I promised to send Ginger Altoids to a few people they completely disappeared from my Trader Joe’s. I spent a few days upset, and hoarding the half a tin a had left. But today I found them at Draegers! (It’s in Menlo Park for those of you in the Bay Area.) Yay! I wonder if Altoids freeze? I’ll have to save them like nuts.

[ redux ]

The Swell line at Target is slowing taking over this apartment. First it was tall and short striped plastic tumblers to hold stuff in the bathroom. Then it was a striped plate and bowl to hold things in the living room. And some of those colorful rubber coasters. I was eyeing the serving tray, ice bucket, and those chair cushions. It was all I could do not to bring home the bathrobe and matching tank top.

Things like this really get to me though. I think it’s cute and all that. But it’s not until I know that it won’t be around for much longer — and the stuff is usually pretty well picked over once I get there — when the desire to own grabs me. All of a sudden I become a strange consumer monster – driving an hour or more to find a Target which has that $2 striped salad plate which I JUST MUST HAVE aaaaaaahh!! I’m not sure if this is amplified by my location in the people saturated Bay Area. But chain stores do seem to be a lot different around here, I seem to remember the Targets and Dennys in Ohio as nice, cheerful, clean places. Around here they are under stocked, overcrowded and after a trip to them I need to go have a lie down. It makes for exhausting weekend errands.

So I was all excited when the Lush store in San Francisco opened recently (420 Powell if you don’t know already). A few people wrote to tell me the prices were kinda high, and I was like yeah, yeah, yeah, that won’t stop me! But I finally made it out there last week and man, those prices. I mean I adore Sea Vegetable soap but I didn’t end up paying the $10 for a slice. And $7 for bath bombs. Wow. I actually left without buying anything at all. By comparison the Lush Canada website (which will ship to you, and very speedily I might add) charges 4 to 5 dollars Canadian (here is a currency convertor for you) for bath bombs and $6.25 for a slice of Sea Vegetable – which is just over $4 US. I agree very much with everyone that says if you are a Lush junkie, ordering from the Lush Canada site can easily be worth the shipping costs. Otherwise, trying one or two things out would be worth getting them from the store.

I am completely charmed by the carrot box – a site devoted to plastic rings. There is even a news page.

Digs Magazine has up an article on using cool placemats instead of curtains.

So my Valentine’s Day had some pink in it – I gave in and made Cosmopolitans. I was thinking about which flavors I like most and wondered if there were any ginger drinks. I’ve only found one so far – Whiskey Melba.

There is a magazine about shopping, there is a magazine devoted only to shoes, but is there a magazine which is just about that which gets me to buy magazines – bags? There should be.

Anna offers her favorite beauty products at just the same time I discover I am woefully sensitive to benzoyl peroxide. Last week after poking around the redesigned Cosmetics Cop I decided I had better add some sort of pimple fighter to my nonexistent skin care routine. I bought some Persa Gel (Clean and Clear’s 10% benzoyl peroxide lotion) and after two nights of dabbing it on a few spots the skin in those areas began to swell and get dry and itchy one afternoon. By that evening whole parts of my face to which this evil concoction had not been introduced had followed suit, and by Thursday I was looking very much like a monster, an itchy, swollen, red, unhappy monster. I’m much recovered but still unattractively flaky. Either it was a rather enthusiastic reaction or I’m one of the lucky 1 to 3% of the population who should stay the hell away from this stuff.

On that note, anyone have a non-benzoyl peroxide pimple fighter to recommend?