The to-do list for France is *gasp* almost done. I finished trimming a coat over the weekend, while at a family gathering (& in the car on the way there). My mom even helped finish a shirt I was making for an SCA event this next weekend. I’m now going over my packing list to make sure I have everything, plus I’m waiting for the items that Donna is making to arrive. I may have to sew buttons on during the plane ride or maybe at night in our Paris apartment, but that’s it, I think, fingers crossed.
However, what inspired me to post right now is that a blogger friend, The Curious Professor Z, started posting her “jukebox” & asked what you listen to during the week. During the week when I work from home, I have NPR (local station KQED) on in the background. But when I sew, I really mix it up.
I know a lot of costumers say they sew (especially hand-sew) with costume movies on in the background, such as things they’ve watched a million times so they don’t need to watch the screen & can just listen to the dialog. Well, that’s totally not my thing. I’ve tried, & it doesn’t work. I *like* to watch the visuals — that’s the best part of a costume movie to me! I can occasionally sew to TV if it’s something where the visuals don’t matter, like a sitcom repeat (think “Friends” or “Sex in the City”). But not drama because that’s too engaging & again, it can’t be anything with appealing images.
not my cat or iPod, but my sentiment
So I’m all about audio. I alternate between talk & music. For slow work, particularly hand-sewing but also patterning, fitting, & ironing, I like podcasts (which are my version of NPR because I don’t have an actual radio in my sewing room, plus I can get more variety). I listen to NPR shows I’ve missed during the week, such as Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Fresh Air, KQED’s Forum, RadioLab, To the Best of Our Knowledge, & the Commonwealth Club; some BBC shows like Thinking Allowed & In Our Time; & random stuff like Savage Love.
During machine sewing & cutting & any task I need high energy, I listen to music. My iPod playlists are heavy on the ’80s new wave & vintage goth, sprinkled with some ’70s disco & rock & ’90s-’00s pop, not to mention the occasional Weird Al & other novelty tunes. I especially love singing along loudly (& badly) to the Smiths, Sisters of Mercy, the Cure, Love & Rockets, Depeche Mode, New Order, Duran Duran, Erasure, ABBA, Donna Summers, Lady Gaga, David Bowie, the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, & Journey. Yeah, nothing too obscure, but it’s fun & rockin’ & keeps me moving.
Do you watch TV or listen to music while you sew? What keeps you going when you face down a big to-do list?
I put on Godzilla or Muppets movies, with familiar soundtracks. That way my minds eye can play the action for me.
Hahahha, I can imagine that 🙂
I do like movies best (the 1995 Pride & Prejudice is great, just b/c it’s so long) — and for handsewing, documentaries! But I also like to listen to music and to sing along loudly, but mostly while cutting — for anything else, singing is what would distract me!
But during P&P, the Ultimate Colin Firth Moment is so distracting!!!
I really need to put in something I have seen a million times so I won’t be tempted to look at the screen. This means putting in my M*A*S*H DVD’s, or things like “Moulin Rouge”, “The Producers”, “Master & Commander”, etc.. I just *cannot* sew in silence, and I save my iPod tunes for driving in the car. 🙂
Now M*A*S*H would be good for me to sew to bec. I’ve memorized all the shows & don’t really need to see the TV, but it’s funny enough to pass the time. Good idea.
I sew in silence, except for the occasional cursing. (except at your house, where I talk nonstop)
HAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!