Curly to Straight and back again...

This winter I decided to straighten my hair because I needed a trim... REALLY BAD. After the hack job the "salon that shall not be named" did on my hair for my birthday and just TIME, I need a trim super super bad but I didn't feel like vetting curly salons to get a DevaCut. My first DevaCut experience left me in tears and very angry about the money i spent so I didn't feel like wasting my time. (sn: I don't think DevaCut salons are bad but find a stylist that does YOUR KIND OF HAIR)

I know I said that I don't do heat but I say a lot of things when it comes to my hair so i'm going to stop saying "never" lol. The last time I straightened my hair was when I was transitioning in December of 2012. Anyway, I found this stylist through a friend of mine. I've had very bad experiences with stylists so I decided that I would wash/dc/detangle my hair at home and then I went to the salon so that he (the stylist) could blow dry and straighten my hair. I'm very happy with the decision I made and this salon experience went without incident *praise Him!*

When he straightened my hair he only did one pass with the flat-iron and was able to get bone straight results. My hair looks thick in its natural state but my individual strands are really thin. I've never had problem getting bone straight results ever. He trimmed a smidge more than an inch off all over but when I got home I sat in the mirror for a couple of hours and did a serious dusting. I basically cut off the single strand knots and split ends that were left off each individual strand.  That resulted in an additional 2 inches being cut off in a lot of places.

Basically I cut off all my growth between June and December lol . It's okay though. Now that I've gotten the trim, I notice that my hair doesn't shed as half as much as it used to and it's stronger so I know that it's going to grow back. I've changed my goal from #WLby25 to #WLat25 . I think I'll be able to reach my natural waist by December if I don't have any serious set backs. *fingers crossed*

Somewhere over the Rainbow..

My sewing table is a MESS. And I didn't make this mess just for this picture. It's been like this for weeks. Aside from some new fabric on there, I have been staring at a growing pile of UFO's.... all because spring won't come!  This isn't the longest winter ever but it's definitely been the most unproductive.

I've started many projects. Unfortunately when I get near the end I get distracted and move on to something else because the weather won't permit me to wear what i'm making! It's all very cruel, really. So I've bid my time watching Game of Thrones and House of Cards til the warmth comes back with my sew-jo.

I've also bought fabric! My last fabric purchase was the 1st of October so I think I've practiced some great restraint lol. Not that I need more fabric.....

I just saw a shiny Fabric Mart sale email for knits that hit a weak spot. So I ended up getting 22yards of different knit fabric and 17 yards of wool suitings. I also got 2.5 yards of some pebbled coating that I will probably use to make something specific that I have in mind... not a coat lol

I know I had a lot of fabric in my stash already but I realized that a lot of the patterns that I have and would wear required some plain fabric that would make me wear the garment often. Alot of the fabric I already have is very patterned or very textured lol Fabricss that don't make well for many hard-working 9-5 garments.

Last weekend I went to NY to visit The McCall Pattern. Meg gave me a tour and I met many of the people that work behind the scenes. It was pretty eye-opening. When I think BIG4 I think of some huge untouchable company with factories and offices and people all over the country.... nah lol. They do all they're work right there in NY. One big floor of employees putting in work to run a largely successful company. It was refreshing. Being able to laugh with some of them and ask questions to others. Everyone knew everyone and everyone was important. I like them lol

Anyway, Meg convinced me to go to the Garment District when I left there. I did (even though I didn't want to lol) and I came upon H&M fabrics where I found some faux-leather for 8.99/yd. I snagged 2 yards and decided that was enough money for me to spend lool. I did go up to Mood too but I was so overwhelmed that I walked around and then walked right out. lol I think that Mood is one of those places where you need to go in with a plan. I'll try that next time.

Anyway, that's all that's going on here. Starting tomorrow the temperature here in the DMV is supposed to go up and STAY up for at least 2 weeks! I really want it to get warmer so that I can go running. I've gained a bit of weight since December and my measurements aren't quite what they were before so that is also keeping me from the sewing machine lol. T-25 isn't really cutting it. Running should help when the sun returns. Hopefully my sew-jo (and blog-jo for that matter) will come back with it! *crosses fingers*

Talk to you soon :-)