#downthepub

i wondered if you could supply more insight into the quote from paul's bio:

I’d sit and talk to her, and I guess people could tell that it wasn’t worth pulling me. I think you’ve got to give off scents, and respond correctly to certain things, whereas with me it was just flirting.

i thought I was getting better at interpreting him but this leaves me flummoxed. who are the "people" who can tell he's "not worth pulling??" "people" in general, not just April. am I just being dense or is he not fully making sense here?

does he mean he likes flirting with trans people, plural, April being one of them, or something else? (it's ok if you can't explain but I am trying to figure it out and failing...)

Hey! So yeah, this kinda jumps out at me too. I'm not quite sure what Paul means by this, but given the full quote I'm led to two conclusions:

1.) Perhaps because of his level of fame and notoriety, especially at this time during the 1960s, it may not be worth trying to "pull" him (aka, get him in bed).

2.) Still because of reason #1, it might be harder for him to have queer experiences and not worth "pulling".

Now, this was written in the early 90s, so it's possible Paul is fluffing it up a little bit to make it sound vague, essentially to make himself sound less like a slag (lmao). We all know of Paul's exploits in his own accounts and other people's accounts who were close to him during that time, and was known to have multiple girlfriends at once. Paul might have been trying to be like "oh but I wasn't pullable! It wasn't worth pulling such a celebrity like me!" It's sort of his defense mechanism to be like "oh no, not me" but when in reality it's a bit different than that. Think of that one interview during the Wings era where Paul is talking about his romantic encounters before Linda, and then gives a vague answer and asks to clarify and goes "boys" but "IN MY CASE anyways it was girls."

I definitely think he could have meant "people" as in general, rather than a specific group or gender. There are a few instances, like the Wings interview, where he talks in a neutral pronouns about his past experiences, and I'm not one to speculate on Paul's sexuality...but 🤷 He did say he enjoyed being flirted with when April Ashley was flirting with him. So it's not out of the realm of possibility he liked having attention from all genders, just maybe "not worth pulling" or not worth having sex as it might be scandalous since he was such a big star of the era.

oh hey coincidentally i'm actually out reading this rn!

I'm halfway through and so far I'd thoroughly recommend it! I saw someone else's review which said it's like sitting down for a cup of tea and a chat, and I do agree with that - it's pretty basic "we went here, we did this" stuff but it's also a nice glimpse into 50s-60s liverpool and the rock scene that existed just after the beatles skyrocketed (and they are HEAVILY tied into the beatles despite only meeting them once - they try to play the cavern + get into the hamburg scene because that's where the beatles went, astrid styles them, one of them falls in love with klaus, etc).

omg That is so good to hear!! 🤗 Thank you! ❤️ (also omg, your icon is the cutest!)

That...is a surprisingly hard question? Mostly the quilting part of it.

I mostly learned to sew on ancient cast iron treadle machines. They’re work horses and get the job done- if you only want to straight stitch, and want some exercise to go with your sewing. I later upgraded to an early electric cast iron- same thing, minus the exercise. If you’re good at finagling things, and okay with user manuals maybe not being available, you can sometimes pick up machines like this at thrift stores or craigslist type sites for not too much. I wouldn’t spend more than $100, and I’d make sure before buying that they are in working order-  I have 2 treadles I never managed to get running so they’re just pretty furniture. If you’re really lucky, they’ll have a little metal box of attachments with them- I love the ruffler foot one of mine came with!  Sometimes people will just have these lying around and offer to give them to you! Actually, not a bad idea to ask around with friends and family- I’ve gotten a shocking amount of craft supplies from other people’s abandoned hobbies and deceased relatives.

My first modern machine and the one I’ve been using to do everything I’ve posted here is a Husqvarna Viking Emerald 116. This is the absolute bottom of their decent machine line (the huskystar line is the true bottom of the barrel, I don’t even count them.) It does straight stitch, zig zag, and a few stretch/decorative stitches. The feed dogs can drop to help with quilting. It has been amazing, I’ve never had an actual problem with it’s functionality. My problem is the “throat” (sometimes called the “harp”) area, which is measured from the needle to the side of the machine is only 5.5″, which makes it difficult for an entire quilt to fit into it for the actual quilting part, though piecing isn’t terrible. Also, no walking foot or free motion quilting foot was ever made for the Emerald line, so it’s difficult to quilt without the fabric layers shifting. This machine retails around $450, and is still available. I bought mine as a floor model and spent maybe $250 on it? I consider that a steal for how long I’ve used it. I highly recommend Husqvarna Vikings for absolute ease of set up and use, but probably not the emerald line if you want to quilt.

Quilting machines seem to go one of two ways- you can get a modern straight stitch machine, which is just like the old ones in that is all it does, but they have much larger throats (often 10″+) and better for quilting. Or you can do what I did and get one that may have a slightly smaller throat (my new one will be 8″) but still have fancy stitches. Everyone has their own opinion on what’s best, and most people will tell you to go to your nearest machine shop and test drive everything/pick the brains of the employees. Honestly, this is a great idea if you have something local, and such shops often have a used section as most manufacturers have a trade in program- when I bought my Emerald for example, I could have traded her in within a year for 100% of the purchase price towards a new machine, or 50% in the second year. So you can get lucky and score a deal on a used machine or a floor model like I did!

As we are in a pandemic though, I hesitate to suggest you go hobnob with others and get your hands on things. I can recommend Pfaff, Bernina, Juki, Janome, and Brother as all being highly recommended to me- they come in all price ranges and features, and used ones are fairly easy to come by. I hesitate to recommend something outright as I haven’t handled a lot of machines, but the one I’m getting has a much cheaper little sibling- the Juki F300. Fewer built in stitches (100+ instead of almost 300? who needs that many anyway) and the quilting accessories- special feet and expansion table- need to be bought separately, but it’s about half the price. Some decent Brothers are down in the $350 range. Really, a cheaper price comes at sacrificing accessories (which can often cost a pretty penny to buy separately) and throat space which you can do nothing about if it is too small.

So, I’ve talked way too long and maybe not helped a whole lot. In the end, I’d say look for something with more than 6″ throat space, feed dogs that can be dropped (or there’s a plate that can be put over them), something that comes with a walking foot or there is one available for that model, and/or a free motion foot if you’re interested in that kind of quilting. Watch videos on youtube and make sure you’re comfortable with threading and the bobbin (I love drop in bobbins for ease of use!) And be willing to spend I would say at least $500 if you plan on quilting and don’t want to upgrade out of frustration any time soon. Can you get away with a machine half that price? Yes, but when you’re frustrated and want to punt it, be careful not to break toes ;)

I also did a lot of my research reading recommendation threads in r/sewing and r/quilting if you use reddit. A LOT of people there either tell you to go to a shop and test drive everything, or go pick up an old 70s metal machine for cheap without actually giving you advice on what brands to look out for lol. It’s half helpful, and half even more frustrating. Also try auction sites- not only ebay, but shopgoodwill can be useful too!

🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 thank you 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

*hugs* :( :(

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