What's your waistband made of?

OH - it was a slug on the rug kind of day! Well, not exactly. I went to the gym this morning, and instead of using the spin bike, I am trying something else. It's a sideways elliptical - I must check the name because I don't think that is what it's called. 

I do fifteen minutes - it gives me cardio, and you can change your position so while you can stand, you can also do a squat while still moving sideways. OK - that sounds bizarre, but it's challenging, and my legs were rubber after 15 minutes. Well, I didn't think they were too bad, and I stand for 2 minutes, then do the squat for 1. So in the 15 minutes, I don't do much squatting.

Then I spent the next 45 minutes doing some stretching and some of the exercises recommended to strengthen my legs. WOW -- these are just the chair squats, the step up and step down, plus a few core exercises. My legs were tired when I was done; I even got my heart rate up while doing those, and they are SIMPLE. 

The icing on the cake was I also had a massage a couple of hours later, and I was done for the day! 

I needed a good nap, but that wasn't happening because we had a massive rain storm, and the girls weren't too happy, so I got up to be with them. But I did have a better nap later. And I did NOT have enough water throughout the day! 

I feel OK today, but I'm off to meet with Brooke, so perhaps we can work on the arms. My legs don't hurt - they are just tired. 

I also went to the mall for lunch with a friend, and well, we have a new project to work on, but more about that another day! 

I tidied a wee bit in Studio B, and that was it! I was too tired to even start a new puzzle. Let's hope that today is going to be a super productive day.

Here is the mess on my cutting table. There were a lot of scraps from the stitch-and-flip corners on the Down on the Farm quilt, which I have been trying to keep corralled in the scrap bucket at the end of each day or block. But a few other shapes, overcuts, and pieces I miscut have accumulated, and now it's time to deal with them to make the cutting mat usable again. 

The cutting table is a mess.

I even attempted to recut the grass section for the rooster, but it started pouring rain again, and the girls were quite agitated, so I came upstairs to be with them. While DH tries, he is not the comforting parent in our house. As I lay on the loveseat in the living room, I even contemplated moving my jigsaw puzzle table there so I could be with the girls while I worked. 

Hmmm —that's a possibility—there is room. 

I still have the grass fabric to cut for that replacement section, and I hope to get that done today. I don't know if I'll sew it, as I want to start making more samples. I'm now down to five days before I leave, and while that is plenty of time, we all know things can happen, or plans can go awry. 

I sorted through another four or five bags of the triangles that I pulled from that basket. Thankfully, a couple of the bags contained pieces that were way too small to deal with. Let's be realistic - many people wouldn't even touch the triangles that make the 1" finished HSTs. 

Another group of triangles that are too small

So the goal today is to finish cleaning off the cutting table—OK, just half of it. See how quickly that extra stuff accumulated on the other half of the cutting table. I didn't do anything, and BAM—all that stuff appeared! I have two pet mats partially filled, and clearing out the scraps on the cutting table will finish both. Then, once they are serged shut, I can move the serger off that table and set up the new machine. 

Then we'll see how I make out with samples. 

Someone asked me to guess how many HSTs are in that basket. OK - since they are not HSTs, let me guess how many are in that tin I have. Remember this tin? Maybe that is what she asked me. Hey -- it's early!

One tin of completed HSTs that finish at 1"

The one where the little devils are trying to escape out the bottom. How is that even happening? 

How are they even trying to escape?

Hmmm --- how does one even go about guessing? I'm going to use that quilt I shared the other day as a reference. 

A quilt made mostly with HSTs

That's a pretty big quilt, and there isn't much white in it, so it's mostly made of HSTs. They are 1" finished, and I believe she said there were close to 3,300 HSTs in the quilt. That quilt top wouldn't fit in that box, so there can't be 3,000 HSTs in it. I'm going to guess there are 1,000 units in that box. 

I am NOT counting them!

I am going to take one day in September to spend the entire day sewing them and trying to sort them into two groups. You'll have to wait for that - actually, I probably won't share until I've shared it with my Scrap quilt group. 

And yes, sadly, that class is filled, and it only took three days. At this point, I'm not planning on running a second session, UNLESS there is a lot of interest and people didn't get signed up. I will have my material prepped, so I could run it again if there is enough demand. 

If you are still wondering about the other classes, they are listed here, and while I haven't checked yet, I believe there is still plenty of room in all of them. 

OK -- let's talk about shopping for shorts. I live in shorts in the summer, and it's always hard to move to pants at the end of the season. 

I am not a fan of "dressier" shorts that have a waistband like jeans. Aren't most waistbands these days moving to elastic? 

But here are some things to consider. OH -- let me specify that my shorts are probably more athletic-type shorts. And remember how I said I can't stand exposing my neck (no V-necks) or wearing sleeveless tops, but I'm happy as a clam to wear short shorts. Go figure. I do not have long lithe legs, but I like shorter shorts. 

Here's the waistband on one of the shorts I bought for the Camino. And rather than saving them only for my hikes, I've decided to wear them as everyday shorts. I love them because they have a side-seam pocket that fits my cell phone perfectly. And the sides are open and don't adhere to your legs, so on a hot day, they are very cool, which is why I chose them for walking in Spain. 

The waistband on my Camino shorts

But we are here to talk about waistbands. The waistband is wide, which is much more comfortable than a narrow waistband, but then the elastic will roll over and twist as you pull them on and off. And let's face it, none of us has that perfectly flat belly, so you know that waistband is going to roll. So I add an extra line of stitching to help prevent the elastic from twisting, and it works. 

This is my other pair of shorts that I purchased for walking/vacationing, and they also have a wide waistband, but the manufacturer put in a couple of rows of stitching to prevent the elastic from going crazy. They feel good and again, big pockets in the side seam to hold the phone. 

More lines of stitching in the waistband

I would NOT wear either of those to the gym, as the legs are very open, and when you are on the floor doing stretches and such, it probably doesn't give you much privacy! But for walking and standing, they are great. That sounds a bit weird, but trust me - they are not workout shorts - running, yet, but not stretching. 

But when I went shopping for shorts the other day, things have changed. I don't think I mentioned the "new" gear that people are wearing to the gym. I don't have time to chat about that today, but look at the new waistbands. Instead of elastic, which can break down, these shorts are strictly made from fabric - including the waistband. I will admit they are super comfy - no elastic cutting into your waist and they don't really roll down. Although I have not yet worn these shorts. Notice that the waistband is the same color as the shorts. These are good for working out at the gym - the leg is tight. 

Fabric for the waistband - no elastic

Now look at these shorts. Again, these have a looser leg, so they will probably be just for walking, and not for working out at the gym, but look at that waistband. What does that remind you of? 

A waistband on new shorts 

Yep -- that reminds me of maternity pants! The band is stretchy and made of a different fabric. 

I will say they are super comfy. You barely know you have those shorts on! 

There is only one issue with these. You no longer have that elastic at your waist to remind you NOT to have that extra donut!!! However, I have gotten myself into a good routine with food, so that will not be a problem, but it would be easy to grab that extra donut and not feel like you need to pop a button to accommodate your expanded/bloated waistline!!!!

I know -- the silly things that cross my mind! I did buy several shorts as they were on sale, and some of them are for the gym - I have NOT bought new workout wear in MANY years, and I deserve a little treat. I'll still wear my older ones - there is nothing wrong with them, but I was having to do laundry a bit more frequently than I wanted! 

On that note, I'm out of here. I have a date with Brooke, and I don't want to be late!!!

Have a super day!!

Ciao!!!