[california] / lots of projects

Happy December! As I’ve resettled back into life in good old Irvine, lots of time has been spent on projects and working on all the hobbies that took a backseat to summer travel.

the brown buffalo - sewing workshop

In November, I spent some time with The Brown Buffalo in Costa Mesa, taking a 4 day sewing workshop making on their signature 26L backpacks. It was my first time working with an industrial sewing machine and spending time with professional bag people! I learned a lot about bag construction and felt inspired by the expertise and vision from the people I met there. I wasn’t confident that I would be able to make something of good enough quality that I would be comfortable with someone using it on a daily basis, but it came out quite well and it’s now Max’s daily work bag! The shoulder strap system is particularly comfortable.

marker roll

After returning from my sewing workshop, I made a little pen/marker roll to hold a few COPIC markers and pens to accompany my notebook where I try to jot down on all of my random sewing (and other) project ideas.

polartec power air pullover

Continuing to ride out my inspiration from the sewing workshop, I spent an evening making a Polartec pullover from some Power Air fabric I got during the beginning of the pandemic. I used a Green Pepper pattern and modified it with an Everlane pullover silhouette that I quite like, and I’m pretty happy with how it came out! I really like the Patagonia style pullovers but find most to be a little too colorful for my liking. I like how this material is all black, but has a slight accent due to the subtle grid texture. I used 420D ROBIC nylon for the collar accent, which also provides some textural variation without getting colorful.

juki dnu-1541

After much contemplation, I decided to get an industrial sewing machine. When I started sewing again last year, I wasn’t sure how much I would actually sew beyond the few small projects I had lined up. It’s fair to say that I’ve gotten pretty addicted — I spend a lot of time thinking about new projects, sketching things out, and seeking inspiration from others. My main reservation with getting an industrial machine was weight. I bought it off Facebook Marketplace — we drove down to Escondido a few weekends ago to check it out. It came with a massive clutch motor that was probably 50 lbs on its own, plus the 60-ish lb machine. The v-belt attachment that connected the motor to the machine was way too tight, which made the handwheel difficult to turn, resulting in an ergonomic disaster. I was pretty sure I could put a new motor on it and fix the tension issues, so we hauled it home in the back of the Fit after some reasonable negotiation.

I got a new servo motor off of Amazon and replaced the clutch. It went relatively smoothly, even though I did drop the clutch motor on my hand in the process (not fun). The new motor is significantly lighter and smoother, and also allows for variable speed which makes sewing on the machine much easier. I’ve yet to do a major project with the new machine, but I’m looking forward to it and sparing my 1959 Singer from massive stacks of Cordura.

e-bike conversion

With me working from home and Max’s office just a few miles away, having two cars feels somewhat excessive, especially considering gas and maintenance costs for older cars nowadays. While researching electric commuter vehicles, we somehow decided that converting my Velo Orange Neutrino mini-velo into an e-bike would be the way to solve our transportation problems.

We used a Bafang BBS02 mid-drive kit, meaning the motor is mounted in the bottom bracket area of the bike, as opposed to other kits that might mount on the front or rear hub. The conversion went relatively smoothly. Removing the bottom bracket was adequately challenging. We ended up getting new handlebars (VO Klunker) to accommodate the various accessories we needed to add (display, throttle, bigger brake levers, phone mount, light), which meant the brake and derailleur cables became too short. I learned how to rewire derailleur and brake cables which was pretty fun, and we were pretty much off to the races. The video below shows our first ride at a 15mph top speed, but that’s now been modified to 30mph which is significantly more fun and scary. Since this was intended to be an errand bike, we added a front rando rack and a Wald basket to haul all the Sprouts groceries. We did our first successful bike grocery run this past weekend.

non-project things

That’s about it (honestly a lot, in retrospect…) for projects the last two months. I’ve been going to physical therapy for some minor knee pain. We spent some time in Idyllwild before Thanksgiving. I’m trying to include running in my exercise routine again. I’m also trying to get better at swimming. The Beats Fit Pro are way better (and cheaper) than AirPods Pros. I’m still obsessed with these sunflower seeds. That is all.

reflection question

What are your 2022 resolutions?