SewBlue

My feed:
- sewing, crafts. Currently loving beadwork
- Engineer. Safety. math and science jokes, interesting tech.
- Dyslexia when it pops up
- long covid suffer, but able to manage it
- Lover of history and architecture
- old house DIY projects.
- black cat affectionado. So cats.

Public Key

npub1h5krp8sxmvkjxevnz8mshty03yxmpca4ljw78qk82prwyr9kn9ss0tepf4

NIP-05 Address

sewblue_at_sfba.social@momostr.pink

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Author Public Key

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Last Notes

2026-01-27 17:52:20 UTC

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Here in California, during a rather obscure industry regulatory process, the state authorities started putting together a (literally) a plan to plan for the phase out of residential gas distribution, by 2040.
Out of nowhere there was a national level right wing panic about how gas stoves were going to be made illegal. Passionate testimony from the other side of the country about how much they lived their fancy gas range. Progress has stalled, plus the new administration will make it harder.
Natural gas will be a lifeline to oil companies as other sources of renewables decrease oil demand.
In my opinion we cannot make real progress until the market fundamentals kneecap natural gas. And one of the fastest ways to do so is to change the market.
Like not buying natural gas from oil companies. It's more of a boycott than green for the sake of green though.

2026-01-27 16:19:28 UTC

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California (where I am based) has big goals to get natural gas replaced with renewables by 2040. Biomethane and electrification are in the mix. Should probably note I'm am an engineer in an adjacent industry.
You've touched on the reason I'm a bit hesitant. Biomethane doesn't stop fuel use. It just displaces the worst forms of it.
But if it helps kill the stranglehold oil companies have, that is a good thing to me. I don't think we can make real progress while they have the funds and power to control the narrative. But that is a political argument, not science.

2026-01-27 15:53:47 UTC

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Biomethane can be cleaned up and injected directly into a natural gas system, directly displacing natural gas. In that sense it is reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
Really depends on what the goal is. A direct reduction of greenhouse gas by avoiding methane entirely, or displacing natural gas with a renewable source that has its own significant downsides. Still generating CO2, but it isn't as bad as methane.
I look at biogas as a bridge to get off fossil fuels. Anything that can help cut that industry off from revenue helps move the needle, more than the weight of avoided carbon emissions.

2026-01-27 06:00:24 UTC

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Methane is something like 28x more potent that CO2 as a greenhouse gas, but only lasts 12 years.
So bang for immediate buck, converting methane to CO2 reduces greenhouse gas much much faster.
Long term, better to avoid both. So rather a pick you poison situation.

2026-01-16 13:47:09 UTC

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Hope is also a 4 letter word.

2025-12-26 14:49:27 UTC

My dyslexic kiddo just got me the best Christmas she ever could.
She asked me if she could get a subscription to webtoons.
For reading material.
My kid is 15. Every ounce of reading fluency has been hard fought for. That she wants read, as severe as her dyslexia is, is a triumph.
It is making me well up just thinking about it.
#dyslexia

2025-12-18 01:09:32 UTC

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I was married there!

2025-11-29 20:04:01 UTC

Annual tamale making. Fueled by pan dulce.
Soaking, sorting and laying out the ojas.
Family recipe spices the masa with chile.
The line of pressure cookers doesn't even include the instapots.
#Tamales #TamaleMaking #NewMexico
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2025-11-16 17:09:38 UTC

#SilentSunday
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2025-11-12 23:45:34 UTC

My work has started adopting AI for the one thing it will likely have a solid use for - the hated task of taking meeting notes.
Except. A coworker had an unusual name, that is also basically a date. Think June (not actually June). So the AI system thinks every comment they is an action item with a due date. June, what do you think?
In another case, a brand name of a common part, when said quickly, sounds like a given name. So a pipe gets assigned work. Instead of the pipe being the work.
June is obviously not very happy about being a due date.

2025-10-29 16:28:46 UTC

I finished it!
Only took staying up until 1 am because the last bit of trim fought me. But it is done, and kiddo was glowing.
I copied a gown from 1865, but changed the colors to suit the "emo Victorian vibe" kiddo was going for. The changeable taffeta glows shocking red in the sunlight, but the black undertones come out otherwise.
Got a lot of smiles walking through San Francisco this morning.
#Sewing #HistoricalCostuming #SanFrancisco
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2025-10-22 12:33:47 UTC

My husband has hit the "fuck you, pay me" phase of the shut down. People are starting to call in sick.
His role at Social Security is "essential" while his paycheck is not.
He will not be getting paid Friday. His last paycheck was half the normal amount.
Maybe this is how Trump kills Social Security, as he just stated he wants to. Prolong the shut down until the systems break.

2025-10-20 12:03:12 UTC

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What make a city infastructure feel alive to me is that it is an amalgam of different choices layered over hundreds of years. Thousands of tiny choices: how thick to make a window frame, how tall above street level is the main floor. Buildings built by individuals then repurposed, styles changing over time. Untold layers built up over decades.
A single mind, or even a team of minds, is not able to replicate decades of choices, to capture that humanity. Sterility reigns because it's easier to use standardized forms. Function becomes less important than ease of decision making.
Planned cimmunities like this is always about control. One mind making the choices, either to earn money off the venture or control people. Everything else is window dressing, a sales job.

2025-10-11 15:48:13 UTC

I am trapped in a gravity well of cuddles. The void has its hold on me and will not let go.
#caterday #CatsOfMastodon #BlackCat
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2025-07-24 04:16:13 UTC

Only took me 3 years to finish! It is 8x8 inches, 18 count Aida. Over 20,000 stitches/pixels. #crossstitch #embroidery #sewing #StarWars
I picked up cross stitch when sick with #LongCovid. As I got healthy, and ran out of a couple thread colors, I set it down. Did not pick it up until I went on vacation a couple weeks ago, and needed a project. And I finished it!
The pattern designer is Awesome Pattern Studio on Etsy, and they are a Ukrainian pattern maker. Love the use of color and color blocking. Have done a couple of her pieces and they are always striking.
Not sure I will do another all over cross stitch due to the amount of time they take, but I love the results.
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2025-07-09 14:43:46 UTC

Finished my blouse just in time for our trip.
Rather proud of this. No pattern! I made it via pattern manipulation from a sloper. Did not even do a muslin! Just me trusting my skills.
It's cotton gauze. Purchased sight unseen.
#sewing
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2025-05-04 17:59:34 UTC

California poppies from my yard.
#BloomScrolling #CaliforniaPoppies
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2025-05-03 23:11:46 UTC

Finished my 1935 evening dress! I feel like May West in the dress - all curves. I love the "barely staying up" feel of this dress.
The pattern is from a 1935 drafting system, though getting the drafting to work around my bust to waist ratio was a challenge. And a challenge again to make sure the heavy bread work stayed in place. The bead work design is my own, and took about 6 weeks to complete.
The silk satin charmeuse is from Dharma Trading and was with the devil or heaven to deal with, with nothing in between.
#sewing #MadeByMe #BeadWork #embroidery
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2025-04-29 22:56:16 UTC

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A closeup of the white California poppies. I don't most people have seen them. I'd never seen them until they sprouted in my yard.
They are the only white ones in a sea of brilliant orange.
#BloomScrolling #CaliforniaPoppies
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2025-04-29 22:37:39 UTC

My poppies are eating my sidewalk.
3 varieties to boot. Orange, two tone, and the far more rare white California poppy.
#BloomScrolling #CaliforniaPoppies
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2025-04-28 19:23:58 UTC

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My husband works for them. He's basically the top of the chain in what he works on, the final (non medical) call for the more legally complex decisions like qualifications like disability. Qualification is primarily based on case law, so it is very complex. It took 2 years training and monitored work to do his job. He's a top performer to boot.
They have him doing basic public help phone lines once a week now. Helping grannies use a website. While the case count, the difficult work he was trained to do and that has a limited number of qualified people to do, stacks up.
He also now needs to call me every couple of weeks to validate that his phone line is working.
His group measurably handled more cases per week when working from home to boot.
It feels intentional to me, breaking the agency from the inside.

2025-04-24 17:03:32 UTC

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I do historical costuming as a hobby.
The amount of "ye oldey timey" images gets absurd sometimes. And offensive when incorrectly attributed.
Men's fashion? Hard to date beyond a 10, 15 year period. Often the style of photograph dates it more precisely than the clothes.
But women? Women can normally be dated to within 5 years. A year or two of when the photo was taken if she was fashionable or if it is a group shot. If you can see enough detail of course.
I'd date that photo to between 1920-1930.

2025-04-01 03:27:40 UTC

They are not identical but close enough!
Next steps for the two pattern pieces, marking the seam allowance and trimming.
I will double check the dress fit on my muslin dress before I cut the silk.
#BeadWork #embroidery #sewing #1930s
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2025-03-13 13:54:08 UTC

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you've got it.
I follow #dyslexia. There isn't as much content as I'd like.

2025-02-03 02:40:08 UTC

It survived!
My great grandmother made this Hawaiian quiltfor my grandfather. She started when he was a baby in the 1920's, put it aside, and finally finished it in the 1970's once she retired.
The one with the amazing portrait from last week. With a year she moved to Maui, having met her future husband there already.
So happy this made it!
#sewing #quilting #quilt #HawaiianQuilt #handmade #herloom
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2025-01-21 18:30:26 UTC

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We are the product.
Do not provide them with your eyeballs.
Starve the loom of raw material.

2025-01-21 13:54:42 UTC

I need to get some photos off FB before I delete it. Any advice?
Please boost!

2025-01-15 04:24:17 UTC

Now this is a fun book.
Patterns for a vintage (amazing) French designer from a book in Japanese.
#sewing
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2025-01-14 00:42:39 UTC

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Engineer here in a safety related field. More human focused that pure engineering.
At this point I have 22 years of experience. I'm a principal. What I see a lot of is Great Grandma's Brisket.
Great grandma teaches grandma to make brisket. She cuts the ends off while teaching it. Grandma teaches it to mom. Cutting the ends off. Mom teaches it to her daughter. Cutting the ends off.
Young daughter makes the brisket with pride while great granny watches.
Why are you cutting the ends off? I only did that because my pan was too small.
When I do research, I often find brisket driving a practice rather than clear and present safety concerns. Code was worded differently 30 years ago, safety equipment operated differently or didn't exist.
In a way though, the point is the same. Someone needs to know their shit, to know if the cows are elsewhere or if it's the end of a brisket.

2024-12-03 00:46:12 UTC

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I looked at her dress and thought "eh, closer to 1915" before reading that you had dated it.
I was not expecting to have nailed it.
The droopy hair, the turned collar, the less structured bodice.

2024-11-19 18:59:22 UTC

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My mom lost her hearing in one ear and most of it in the other from the mumps as a kid. Back in the 1950's before the vaccine
She got it on purpose too, thinking it would just be a break from school.
These disease maim even if you survive then.

2024-11-03 15:53:39 UTC

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I find it interesting how a woman is expected to have children against her own well being to further the needs of the state. That we are framing human agency as a problem.
Here in the US we are being forced to, even jailed if we don't carry a kid to term. Needed medical care is denied to prevent it from being used to abort. It isn't about protecting life.
Out of fear of what exactly? Taxes for the rich? Create more people to keep wages down?
I don't respect the economic arguments any more, frankly. Not since abortion became illegal here, since white supremacy picked it up. It's like eugenics - everyone is tanted. Where it can head matters.
You are completely right about fertility vs birth rate language.

2024-10-22 04:03:26 UTC

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hugs.

2024-09-06 23:57:25 UTC

Finished the flower!
Entirely hand sewn. Silk chiffon on a buckrum base.
Each petal is an individual bit of chiffon, doubled over and gathered. Each tier of petals of a different size.
#sewing @npub1kle…neyl #1930s #costuming #HistoricalCostuming #Gatsby
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2024-08-31 21:15:36 UTC

When your dress lining would make a damn fine dress on its own.
Red silk crepe. Self drafted pattern based off instructions. Authentic 1930's cut.
That tiny amount of blousing over fitted hips is surprisingly difficult to do. Especially when you are busty.i got the fit absolutely perfect for a tight dress, then added an inch and a half of easeto just the waist.
Think I'm going to have to make a similar dress is a solid color like this. The simplicity of cut and fabric really suite each other.
#sewing #1930s #Gatsby #GatsbyAfternoon @npub1kle…neyl
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2024-08-30 16:13:44 UTC

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In my town, Vallejo California, they straight up bulldozed half of downtown for a freeway that never came.
Vallejo was a Navy town, and had a huge, rather seedy nightlife spot for the sailors on leave. Party town of the west coast. During WWII a large number of black Americans were brought in to work the shipyard, in segregated housing. Like most of the Bay Area there hadn't been much of a black population before WWII.
Within 15 years of the war ending white flight had taken over and they simply bulldozed most of downtown to stop any black owned businesses from forming in the vacuum. Highly restricted zoning to prevent even restaurants. It was repeated all over the Bay Area - Oakland, Richmond Hunters Point, Marin City. Any place that had ship building intentionally sabotaged the economic growth of the city long term because of the demographic changes, to prevent black wealth.
Pisses me off on so many levels.

2024-08-30 13:26:43 UTC

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This one lost my respect for him as well.
I loved loved his Great Courses on language - it really made me reevaluate my thoughts on language, what it does and why/how it is used in certain ways, especially to control and enforce class and power dynamics. I've listened to it a couple times, all 26 hours or so. I went through a John McWhorter period for a while, seeking out his stuff. Was super excited when he got this column.
That did not last long. He can not be more infuriating than about politics. He is an expert in his field and is entirely overconfident outside it. He's using language to enforce the class boundaries, rather than break them.
He is shaming people for being excited. He's calling out racism while ignoring that it's misogyny at play. People started to get excited over Hilary too, they just had to hide it. Pantsuit Nation, remember that? Now we don't have to hide it. With the adde excitement for a fresh face breaking new ground, for someone willing to fight.

2024-08-11 19:30:12 UTC

Finished my vintage 1930's girdle! Haven't received the garter clips I just ordered, so am 95% complete.
The patterns is a reproduction vintage French pattern. Single layer black coutil, with power net elastic panels for a bit of give. I flat felled all the seams, and did exterior bone casings, using synthetic whalebone. 7 bones, as I added one CB.
The patten maker knew what they were doing. It does not ride up, and is weighs less than some modern shape wear I own. Breaths better too, being cotton. The elastic panels are just enough to prevent spill out and keep anything from digging in, and the curves along the bottom edge doesn't interfere with sitting at all.
Only change I'd make is to add another layer of power net to the gussets, as they are going to wear out pretty quickly if I don't get some support.
That said, the translation from French is challenging, so you need decent corset making skills.
#sewing #MrsDepewVintage #GatsbyAfternoon #Gatsby #costuming #1930s
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2024-08-01 16:18:30 UTC

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I got long covid after being super sick first wave, late Feb 2020. Not hospitalized, but if I hadn't been fairly healthy going in it would have killed me. It wanted to kill me, I could feel it. Missed a month of work, ended up in the ER because I was blacking out. Was so early some doctors kept refusing to believe it was covid, prescribing me ever increasing strength antibiotics that didn't work. Testing was not available.
Long covid hit me 10 months later, when I decided to stop taking it easy out of fear of myocarditis. A 20 minute walk left me bedbound for months.