This was a complete disaster
This blog post is late because this project was a complete DISASTER.
The BIG ISSUE: The Adafruit's FLORA board is not easily recognized by my Mac OS 10.7.5.
Two days were spent troubleshooting the board and accelerometer serial communication.
Another three days sewing and resewing the components because the FLORA was not being recognized by the USB port. I needed to eliminate the possiblity that it could be a short circuit. Also, 3-ply conductive thread is extremely difficult to use if one is a novice sewer.
A day of troubleshooting code while being in denial that the problem most likely/definitely lies within the board to port communication.
The board's reset button needs to be pressed every single time the Processing sketch is started and then stopped (!@#$%^&!!). That's just not feasible.
What I've Learned
Get components ASAP. I received the FLORA board last Monday and started working with it on Tuesday. Adafruit was out of the boards when I made my first order for parts. After looking at the tutorials of FLORA projects, I underestimated the amount of time I needed to work with the board ("A week should be fine") because I was only dealing with two components.
Just stick with Arduino I was really intent on using the FLORA board becuause it is smaller than the Lily Pad of similar features. It also fits the aesthetic of the project more than the the purple Lily Pad.
Just do it I spent waaaay too much time fiddling with alligator clips and breadboards when I should have just sewn the FLORA pieces to frabic in order to test. I thought of the thread as solder; I used this analogy: Had I been working with components that needed to be mounted on perf board, would I solder them ASAP? Good intention, but doesn't quite fit this exercise. Also, the FLORA is designed for wearable projects...
Did I do anything right?
Purchasing a new sewing machine.
Alloting ample time to design and sew and resew the wearable. It's not couture, but it is pretty sturdy, and a solid first step.