Ms Grundy again

Tuesday I made a blouse. turns out the changes I made to the pattern were wrong, and the bust dart was wrong again. The sleeves looked a tiny bit tight. Weds I made a blouse - slightly stretchy seersucker plaid. The dart was good, length was good, fit was good - the sleeves were too gathered. I emailed Glenda and she replied within hours. She said my sleeve top was too wide, not too tall. Thurs I made a blouse. silky print - looks almost like dupioni. I narrowed the sleeve, and morphed on a v-neck from another pattern. It is beautiful! The sleeves are perfect!!! Pictures as soon as it is hemmed, since I will be sewing that part by hand. Aso, it ravels so ferociously that I had to serge every edge, and that took a while. When I sew a lot - my back hurts. Got to get up and change what I am doing.... (My son) Ben and Heather are driving through Canada today, leaving Alaska for Florida... (My son-in-law) David won first place in the Wal-Mart national truck mechanics competition...

I had Home Ec in 9th grade. I remember one of the first things we did was learn to make a white sauce for vegetables. I really wondered why glom up perfectly good vegetables. I used to make my own yogurt 4 quarts at a time. Also loved to make bread, though. I used to make my own Bisquick - it was called "Missouri Mix" from a University extension pamphlet. Do they still have those, I wonder? Also, while my husband and I were still in college, we had a large group of non-American student friends - from India, South, and Central America, and decided to make a huge Thanksgiving party for everyone. The tradition of a big Thanksgiving has continued with all my husband's family getting together (His sister had 9 kids.) (My family is farther away, but would be welcome also.) I am famous for the dressing, giblet gravy, and for a cranberry relish my grandma used to make. Once in the grocery, in the tomato sauce aisle, a lady much older than me asked me what I used tomato sau...

I began the quilting on my grandson's quilt. I have put it off for ages, because I couldn't decide what type of quilting I wanted to do. I had thought I would do straight-line quilting a quarter inch from each star shape, and in the solid triangles. But all that stitching would show, so needed to be quite good. Finally today, I just set up the machine and started meandering in the mottled areas. It looks pretty good, is going fairly fast, and doesn't have to be perfect. It is, after all, a quilt I expect to be used, hard. -- pictures when it is done!

If you have never heard of Sure-fit Designs, they are a sewing pattern company that teaches you to make your own patterns from your own measurements. You never have to figure out adjustments to commercial patterns again. But if you want to use a pattern, you can overlay your sure-fit blueprint on the pattern, and get quality results very quickly. I purchased the entire system - and have created a blouse blueprint - twice. It involves sewing up a muslin - and then wearing it, and deciding if it fits, and how to change it to fit better. It is very promising - and I think my third muslin may be the one! (I hope!) But I am alternately eager to make it work, and paralyzed by the enormity of the thing. I WILL make this work, then add the sleeves and skirt - and have a shirtwaist pattern ready to go. Then I will master the pants for my new body shape. Then hopefully, in about another 6 months, I will have lost another 30 pounds, and have to do it all over again!!

I have a large closet, so the temptation is great to fill it. But one thing that I do with my clothes closet is fantastic. I have a limited number of hangers. If all my clothes are clean, and I don't have enough hangers - something must go! I am not buying any more hangers - my wardrobe must fit on the space and within the limits. When I make or buy something new, something else must go. Of course, I have some things that will never leave, for sentimental reasons - a few of my own baby clothes, saved all those years by my mom, some of my Mom's old dresses, and two Chinese silk dresses that once fit me as if designed for me. The navy blue has aged not so gracefully into an ugly purple. The teal one is still wearable - but floor length, and I used to wear it when I chaperoned proms. Those times are gone, but the dress remains. I am sure I am still too large for it, but some day.... I have a dress rack, with some that are too large, some that are too small, some that fit, so...

I had reconstruction July 9th - and am very pleased with it. It involved shaping a new breast using tissue from my own abdomen, and making my existing breast smaller, to match. It didn't affect my weight much - but redistributed it. I am still pretty weak, but finally sewed. It's a pattern I've never used before, of course, because I have lost 30 pounds total, and have a totally new shape. Anyway, a simple top with cut-on sleeves. The first day I cut it out, and thought I was going to collapse. Then another day I sewed it up. It is a beautiful fabric--browns, navy, teal, turquoise print - but charmeuse, so very slinky. I was worn out that day too. I wore it around, and discovered what length I wanted it. The next day I hemmed it and tried three different seam finishes to control the severe raveling. I think it's good now. And it fit straight from the pattern! Under normal circumstances, this project would have taken a single afternoon. But I did it, it's beautiful...

I almost spent $50 on sewing equipment - but instead I loaned two different women enough money to make a real difference in their lives - $25 each... kiva.org