(no subject)

The weather has suddenly turned warm here (we had one day of pleasant weather - it basically went from too cold to too hot immediately), meaning I'm wearing short sleeves full time again.

This leaves me wondering... what the heck was I thinking in high school (and middle school and college, for that matter)?

The majority of my shirts are size XL. They're tents on me. I'm currently wearing a medium, and it fits decently. At my lowest point in high school, I weighed 30 lbs less than I do now; at my highest I may have weighed as much as I weighed now, but probably 10 lbs less (with more muscle weight). Yet I still wore XL.

The oldest shirt in my closet is from 7th grade, so this went back at least that far.

Someone should have smacked me with a clue.

I know part of the problem was tactile issues. Loose stuff just felt more comfortable. I remember having one shirt that was a medium or large, and liking how it looked, but feeling strangled by the neckline. I don't suppose it was really any tighter at the neck than the shirt I'm currently wearing. I just had issues.

Most of it was body image, though.

Dear Middle/High School Self,

You may wear jeans and a t-shirt every day if you so desire. However, you are not allowed to wear shirts larger than size medium, or jeans larger than size 10. Really, you're not fat. Especially not in 10th/11th grade.

Having boobs is not a bad thing.

And if it feels uncomfortable, you'll get over it if you just give it a shot. Really. Or try a shirt with a lower neckline.

However, given the lack of attention you've paid to my notes on other subjects, I can only assume that this one will be ignored, too.

Love,
Your Future Self

I want some new shirts.

Carrier noodlings

I finally get to go to a fabric store tomorrow! Yay!

I need elastic for the diapers, the fabric and webbing for Carrier v2.0.

I got a chance to briefly try the Packababy a few weeks ago, and really liked it. Leif felt lighter in it, though that could just be because I was only able to try it out for a few minutes. It's basically the same style as mine, but the straps are two long pieces of webbing that cross in the back. Most of the baby's weight is supported on the webbing, rather than the fabric and the seams, so there's less chance it will break. This seems to help distribute the weight better, too.

It also means that the carrier should take less than half the time of the first carrier. The straps took a lot of sewing.

Because the straps carry the weight, I can use a lighter weight fabric than the canvas I used before. This will be nice, both because it will be cooler for the summer and because it will fold up smaller and be more manageable. This is why I tend to carry the mock-up I made out of muslin when we go out with the stroller or backpack carrier. I don't trust it for long-term use, and it isn't the most comfortable thing ever, but it's holding up surprisingly well for something that I never really intended to use at all, so it works well enough as a backup.

The packababy uses hemp/cotton combination on the outside, and cotton canvas on the inside, but it seems to be a lighter weight canvas than the stuff I'm using. Even with most of the weight on the webbing, I'm not sure how lightweight I can go and still have it work well. Hemp is strong, and I doubt I'll find any at the local stores (though it sounds like G Street might have a good selection, if silkensteel can figure out how to get us there. That would really be the best, since there's a Joanne's right there, too).

Colors... I like the off-white with the purple fishy panel I have now, but it stains awfully easily, and babies stain things frequently. We have some green star patterned flannel that would look great with black, but I have a feeling Leif would boil in that. I want to do something with this froggy print receiving blanket I have, but I don't know if I'd like a carrier made out of that. I guess I'll just see what they have.

I'd like to make the belt buckle instead of tie, to make it easier to adjust tighten. This may not happen right away, though (which is fine. I can just tie it until I get around to putting buckles onto the belt).

I don't feel bad about blatantly copying the packababy, since this is for my own use. If I decide to sell them, I'll improve on the design I currently have rather than making a packacopy.

(Incidentally, seeing the packababy convinced me that my carrier looks good enough to sell, especially if I get the right needle so the fabric stops catching and be a little more careful. It was nowhere near as neatly sewn as mine, though it wouldn't surprise me if the one I saw was one of the earlier ones they sold. I don't have the time right now to make an actual business, though)

We're planning to sell our stroller and baby backpack and get the Kelty combination stroller/backpack. We tried it out at the store today, and it's more bulky than our current backpack, but not bad. Not exactly the best of both worlds, but not the worst either, and probably good for our needs. Plus, it matches my Kelty backpack. Gotta coordinate.

It just started raining. It sounds so pretty!