A couple boring shirts, poorly photographed? That’s not much to keep people coming back to. I have been working on the house like mad. I will try to get picks of it all up today. And the other things I have sewn. And I will talk about the big time drama that kicked my machine in the tush. Blerg.

This is just a duplicate of my review at PR.

Pattern Description:
It’s a tee with a banded waist and a tiny cowl. Here.

Pattern Sizing:
38-46 - I made a 42

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes - absolutely. Except I am not stick shaped like the burda girls.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
I think there is a direct relationship between how “good” burda instructions are and how little you need them. I understood them, but I only seem to really “understand” the instructions for things I have already made some other company’s iteration of. Like others, I set in the sleeves first. Also, I just serged around the collar instead of stitching in the ditch.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
This leads to a point of contention with my husband. I like this pattern because it has a lot of ease and it seem like something that is mildly flattering (waist band) and still tummy concealing. DH, who has been watching too much What Not to Wear, says this shirt is a mistake because my waist is smaller than my hips. His claim is that the shirt is baggy where I should be placing emphasis (waist) and fitted where I am wide (top of the hips) and I end up looking like a cylinder that is as wide as my widest part.

Fabric Used:
First draft- celadon cotton with matching ribbing (you could have knocked me over with a feather when I found these perfectly matching fabrics at JoAnn’s. I really don’t care for Jo Ann’s ) and a blended jersey from fabricmart for the real deal.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
After I made the celadon, I took in the shoulders a bit.
I also changed the stripe orientation.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Well, I have to concede my husband’s point. He was absolutely right about this not being the most flattering design. But, I am still wearing both of these shirts. The thicker cotton does make me look heavier. I think the finer fabric of the second shirt wears well and they are really comfy. Plus the neckline looks great. I also recommend using a ribbing for the cuffs, cowl and waistband. I thought it looked really professional. Plus, it goes together in no time at all.

Conclusion:
The best thing about this pattern is that it exacerbated my husband. He says I have good taste when I dress myself and others, and I have sewing skills, but those two things seem to not be coming together. He was referring to my last shirt (not reviewed yet, but baggy) and my next jacket. I explained that I don’t have a dress form, so it’s hard for me to fit things to myself.
BOOM - he’s all like “What about that duct tape thing that you were talking about. Do you want to make one this weekend?” Seriously, my husband rocks. This is not his thing at all and this weekend we are going to tape me up!

Hot clothes and minimal yardages here I come!

Today, I borrowed a page from Hungry Zombie and set up a stash management spreadsheet. Not much on the sewing front. Started my second burda top and am struggling with unstable fabric and stripes. I need to get three reviews up and pics. After I hem. And put on buttons. So, I’ll have it up by…August.

I checked out a sale I found Craig’s List. Local designer Linda Asaf was selling off some of her fabric. I could not have been more pleased and impressed. Asaf was so welcoming and her creations were gorgeous and beautifully stitched. She even talked to me about a project they were draping while I dug through her stash. It was an insane design. INSANE. SICK. Like twenty irregular shapes cut on the bias in silk. I find sewing so anxiety provoking and I can be very hot/ cold on it, but a half hour in her studio and I was ready to beg her to just let me hem in corner somewhere and watch for minimum wage. Sigh. Anyway. If you live in the area and she ever has a sale like that again, OMG-go!. And if you need a special occasion dress, she is fantastic. Her website does not do her work justice. Here is what I got:

From left to right: a cobalt habitai, cotton sateen with a tulip design, turquoise cotton jersey, emerald charmeuse, lavender challis (?), creme cotton sateen

From left to right:
Fine black cotton with little white flowers you can’t see, sea green chiffon, teal charmeuse, painted chiffon (sewn already), Fassett cotton print, another cotton print and some velvet

The cuts were irregular on quite a bit. I think I am looking at a few dresses, a skirt and some blouses. This is an insane amount of silk and I feel lucky lucky lucky.

Blergle. That’s why I am headed to the gym now. If these people aren’t lying, muscle mass must make a huge difference.

I have no trouble at all owning up to PMS. It sucks. I have it. I also think men (and women) who are all “what if hillary were prez and she had to decide if she should use the red button while it was her time” are morons.

I think women are actually lucky on this front. My husband and most men I know have as many “moody” days as I do, but they arrive unpredictably and linger for unspecified amounts of time. I have the advantage of knowing what’s coming so I can get extra sleep and eat right and all that stuff. And I know that when I am uber pissed that my husband will not get up and bring me my coffee in bed, I am just being irrational because of highly fluctuating estrogen levels. So I zip it and get my coffee and in 3 minutes I have forgotten it. Men, not being so easily able to determine the source of their irrational behavior, often just give into the grumps. Poor men.

Granted, I did not have to work so I kind let this round go…Last night I went out and had some wine. Which I am not used to because of the diet. Then I came home and fried a Kielbasa. Eh. I got up today, did yardwork and passed out. So no silk, nada trabajo. I am on the couch watching crappy tv. Then going out for Mexican.

Because I can.

I feel like I should have more to post, but the going is slow. I remember that a while back Erica B made a post about where she finds time to sew. Her answer: I make time because I love it (more or less). I found that relieving because when I hold myself next to some women of the blogosphere I feel a bit shabby. But sewing is not my grand passion - that would be teaching. Thanks to Erica’s simple comment, I realized I am not as proficient or as prolific as I would like to be because that’s not really what I want. At least while I am teaching.

Now, however is a different story. Unfortunately, this is the condition I left my sewing room in:

That gorgeous blue blob is the most beautiful floral silk you have ever seen, and it’s all cut out to be vogue 8229 with sleeves as a top instead of a dress. I started last summer after the wedding dress to wear to the wedding in question, but then school started and I did not even look in this room for 8 months.

So, I’m on it, but I love this fabric so much I am kind of spazzing. So I go slow. And I curse.

I curse unceasingly in a long blue streak. It’s my thing, much to the disappointment of my parents. I think they thought I would grow out of it, but here I am in the mid thirties and it seems to have settled. And I intend to be a scandalous old lady. Right now I don’t curse much outside the house, but as the years pile on the filter is going to chip away. Being old is going to be awesome.

This shirt will be lovely, but I am doing a tiny bit at a time.

Not cursing here, but I want to.

Sort of tagged by Hungry Zombie.

What was I doing 10 years ago?
Ten years ago I had just started taking french in summer school. I was about to break up with my boyfriend, break it off with my best friends, sever ties with my roommate, drop out of school and cut my income in half so I could work in bookstores. A turning point for the better.

What are 5 things on my to-do list today?
1. See doc. -check
2. Bring my kids breakfast at school. - check.
3. Nap - check.
4. Really clean the crap out of kitchen. -tardes
5. Watch more of the wire. -tardes

Snacks I enjoy.
cashews
cheese
tator tots
cheetos
chocolate

Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
1. Open my own school.
2. Fund other schools.
3. Meet Bill Gates and tell him what the Gates foundation can do better.
4. Set up all my families for life.
5. Put my husband on a very generous allowance.

Places I have lived.
Phoenix, Arizona
Denver, Colorado
San Antonio, TX
Austin, TX

What types of work have I done.
Kid Party Hostess
Sandwich maker
Pier One Sales Person
Something that is none of your business
Grocery checker
Produce clerk
Florist
Cocktail Waitress
Bank Rep
Bookseller
Teacher
6 peeps I want to know more about.
In the words of HZ: If you’re reading this, I tag you.

I was going to write this bitterly nasty review of Joann and my search for natural fibers today, but I am not really feeling bitterly nasty. I guess I am a little out of sorts since I started the exercise/reduced eating thing.

All I wanted was an emerald green linen, but there were none to be had. What I really want is the glory days of my mom’s Hancock Fabrics in San Antonio. The way I remember, the fabric was all displayed on those round cascading thingies and every table was a single kind of fabric in an array of solids. There was a magic quarter of the store that was all wedding fabric. I was not allowed to set foot in that part of the store. In my recollection, all the fabric was wonderful natural fibers in gorgeous colors, but it was the 70s, so I am probably engaged in revisionist history. Whatever. That’s what I want. And I want all the fabric to be 3 yards for a nickel.

Anyway, I was in Joann all pissed and storming past the giant isle of silky prints and the giant isle of team fleece and the giant isle of flannel, when it occurred to me that I could just dye my own linen. So I picked out a midweight linen and a packet of dye. The good dye. Not RIT. I am bummed because the fabric probably won’t end up with the sheen I was looking for, but I got the color I wanted, and there’s always spray starch. I am on this kick where I am obsessed with the colors that were in a crayola 8 pack. Bright green, bright blue, yellow, orange. Yummy.

Sorry to any readers. No pics makes a boring post. This is mostly for me anyway.