Night and day

On the cat lady friend quilt. In an effort to get it done before Christmas, I started taking what I could to work with me. I haven't had the chutzpah yet to drag a sewing machine along- oh, once or twice I did but that's ANOTHER story. I do have a mini iron, ironing surface and cutting mat that I can slip into my work bag along with a pile of units to press or press and trim.

Dark photos portray my dark environment as it really is. Night shift, baby.  Any quiet activity that promotes the nurse to remain alert in the dark quiet of a home with sleeping people in it is encouraged, a definite benefit to the job. Still, lugging in a sewing machine might be a bit much.

I celebrated Thanksgiving's Day at my eldest daughter's house this year. That enabled me to sew up a Marci Tilton skirt quickly that morning, Vogue 8499.

I'm more interested in the pants, but the pattern needs significant grading up because it doesn't come in my size (very large) and a skirt is simpler by far to extend outward. The tulip shaped bottom is kind of interesting though, and the pockets are big enough for a laptop in one and a sawed off shotgun in the other (I don't own any firearms, but if I did and I wanted to conceal them...). I asked my youngest daughter, who is 6'2"and has her own body images to get some photos. This is what we got-

God love her.  Just as I believe I'm making some headway into accepting that I really am this heavy and I need to make friends with it or change it, she presents to me that I'm shrinking length wise!!!  I knew I lost an inch, from 5'11" to 5'10" in the recent past.  I think I look about 5'2" in this photo, and my feet are disappearing.  Had cute footwear too, darn it. She took more, but I can't stand it and they didn't show any of the features anyway. Not even the fabric details. Stephanie is fired. I have a tripod to dust off. I promise to work on photography skills.

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trickling along

creatively.  I have been puttering about either operating or working on sewing machines this summer, just at the speed of Mississippi mud before climate change.

NOT SEWING, but I have been very pleased with this garden.  I planned it, went to Lowes and got the lumber. I very craftily packed 8 ft lengths into my modest car with the male employees watching reprovingly (Where's her pickup truck?  Where's her MAN?). They also strongly doubted my choice in untreated lumber.  Organic, smorganic they thought.  Wait till those bugs come.  And that wood will rot.  It will rot, but I'm ok with that.  I got a bunch of good stuff out of there and I learned a lot. I think I'll put up two more beds next summer.  I choked some plants out, putting too much in there.

On to sewing.  I couldn't stand to work anymore on the bodice sloper for a while, so I switched to a woven camisole/tank top with darts.  I used a pattern I had on hand that did not have the "correct size" so I had to grade up. I'm fairly confident I did a good job of that.  I then made my first ever full bust adjustment.  In my previous life as a home sewer, pre-computer age, I never needed to do that. I was a fairly straight-out-of-the-envelope size 18 B cup.  It all would have went to hell when it came to crotch depth but that didn't matter then. I only sewed tops, dresses, and skirts. The first thing I discovered on returning to sewing was that I do need adjustments to patterns now.  Pants fitting wasn't too painful.  As I continue to gain more and more post-menopausal weight, the adjustments are getting more and more complicated.

I accommodated pretty well for the bigger bust with the FBA,  but the arm and neckholes were, yeah.  So I diligently measured and made darts and moved darts and redrew patterns, all that convoluted work.  I came up with this:

with more darts pinned in

Perhaps a little better, but not an exciting, flattering fit.  I revisited what I could find online about Nancy Zieman's pivot and slide method.  I ordered the book (I thought) and received a DVD.  I don't currently own anything that plays DVDs, so I reordered the book.  I looked at it, and noted she says your shoulders and armhole depth don't change with weight changes.  I believe they will if you pad enough fat onto those shoulders. 18 might not sound svelte to most people, but I was Army lean with 19% body fat, bikini strutting.  My measured top size is now 26 or 28. With results as above, I'm going to have to try going from the high bust measurement, thus a smaller size, and then slide out from there to accommodate the bigger parts.  I just don't believe I'll be sliding out from an 18.

 I had to abandon sewing garments when the thermometer hit 90. Unless I was going out doors, and sometimes not then, I wasn't putting on more than boxer shorts and a sports bra.  Even to try on was more than I wanted to do.  I marveled all summer at instagram photos of people wearing clothes. Menopause has been long, hot, and heavy in my world.

So, I switched to quilting for a while.  I finally decided that my very rare and old friend Shari deserved a cat lady quilt.  OK, Shari is my age, but we became friends at age 13 on an Air Force base where we were both brats.  Military brats form few if any lasting relationships during their travels, so Shari is one of only two people other than family I've known prior to age 30. The pattern I'm using is modern and so are the fabrics. I'm wondering if I have too many (very cool) cat prints and should have used a higher ratio of solids.  I can only tell when it gets done.

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It took me a darn week just to pre wash, iron, and cut out all those curved pieces.  Thank God for  rotary cutters and acrylic rulers.  How the hell did women do those quilts before rotary cutters and olfa mats?  See my mock houndstooth kittys?  Day of the dead kitties?  I also have some Florida beach and bicycles for our childhood, and wild west mountains, for where she chose to end up. There are atomic cats and retro cats, cats in the garden.  Not old lady cats.

These are the first few blocks sewn.  There will be dark alternating with light blocks that form a secondary design of huge rings across the quilt. Pretty awesome design called Chic Country by Sew Kind of Wonderful, or same pattern by template is called Winding Ways and sold by Marti Mitchell.  Sewing those curves is supposedly intimidating, but there is a great video by SKW on Youtube and the blocks are designed to be trimmed down to size, not needing to be sewn precisely perfect.  Good damn thing, in my case.  I sew slow, and thus few quilts.  This will be, in fact, only my second quilt bigger than crib sized.  I'm highly anticipating getting to the quilting part, my favorite part. I struggle with the precision necessary with most piecing.

Finally, I finished those Style Arc Shelby Sweatpants, back in June, but there was no way I was going to put them on and get photos until it cooled off some.  I like the fit, with my standard crotch depth lengthening.  I added an inch to leg length that I would not add if I make them again.  Also, I'm not sure I wouldn't skip those zippered and bagged pockets and just pop in some side seam pockets, but if I went to the trouble I would certainly find better (higher) placement. They are low.

I was worried by the time I decided to put these on to photograph they would no longer fit.  I outgrew a couple things this summer.  Night shift in home health care involves very little activity, but still leaves you exhausted and not craving much activity daytime either.  The studies about sedentary lifestyle and disease links are hitting the news this summer.  Sitting for 6 or 8 hour stretches is more harmful than smoking a pack a day.  Linked to Diabetes, heart disease, depression, on and on and on.  I've started forcing myself to get up and move at least every two hours at work, and I've been trying to get in walks after work and doing fairly well with that.  I was so out of breath though, and then I was asked to pay $74. for a carton of cigarettes after taxes went up in Delaware.  So in another 4 hours I will be 9 days nicotine free!!!  I've been smoking 1 1/2 packs a day, and smoking for 44 years.  I'm hoping to take off quite a few pounds/inches, increase my activity stamina, and find a new job in the next year or two. I'll be freakin wonderful!

There were vintage machines acquired and tinkered with, another time to discuss those. Contemplating a video for the "newest" one.  Video for the quilting of the quilt too.  I'm really hoping I get motivated sewing garments with the weather and my commitment to activity- I'll need clothes to put on!!!

And maybe print this up poster size to keep the inspiration strong on exercise.  Is that my butt?????
I knew when this style started trending a couple years ago not everyone should wear it.  Ahem.  I do like the camouflage with roses, hearts, and peace signs.

garment sewing and body image

I've made a good start on sewing an updated wardrobe.  I've got 3 bottoms and two tops done.  I'm not amazed at the wonderfulness of any of it (well the pants above are pretty close to wonderful) but I am pleased with the fit of it so far.  Fit is where my biggest sewing issues have always been, at least when sewing for myself.

Unlike quilting and tinkering with vintage machines, I realize that there is a certain obligation to show the finished projects on a body.  A dressform can work, but I don't have one of those.  So I coerced my daughter to take some photos of me in the clothes in the back yard.  She has never liked taking photos of me (perhaps because of my wails with results) and I've never liked the shots any of my kids have taken of me.  They always somehow caught me looking like Ma.  When  I saw these, I was totally shocked at my size.  I have been cognizant of going up up and up in clothing sizes the past 5 years.  I just don't look in full length or rear view mirrors much and this reality was shocking.  I don't know what I'll do about it. It seems reasonable to try to exercise much more, eat better and less, and in the meantime it is obvious to me I need to get some body smoothing undergarments.  I'm kind of clueless about what styles might be flattering at this stage, when my always kind of straight and blocky shape is now bumpy-mountainous in my mind's eye.  During my early adulthood, I always thought I was fat, even with jutting pelvic bones and running 10-12 miles in the Carolina foothills.  Now I've been puffing around thinking I was slightly padded but not really, while cutting out size 24 pants and 26 tops.  250lbs.  I might be fat.  ANYWAY-

These shorts were my first project of the year, with my freaking out about not using my pants sloper for the crotch length.  There's some slight puckering in there, but not bad at all once I got the waistband on.  The pattern is a Vintage Simplicity 8526 that I had cut out but never sewn and I used for all three bottoms.

The fabric was some cheap twill that had been in my stash forever, a remnant from somewhere for cheap.  It wrinkles very easily and will not wear well.  I was very happy that once they were all together the shorts did not look as awful as I first anticipated.  Not only would I be ok going out in public with them, but they are some of the most comfortable sleep shorts I've ever had.  I've got some more planned with just that in mind.  Night shift moms are accustomed to having to rouse from bed to get into the car and going somewhere from time to time, this is much better than just jumping back into the crumpled scrubs.

The red stretch denim and the flowered jersey were both from Girl Charlee.  They took about 9 or 10 days to arrive from California after ordering online, seems like a long time to wait.  I'd express ship if I ever needed something from them urgently.  I was very pleased with the quality of both, price was fair but not cheap.  The lace segment was only a little bit of a pretty lace end of bolt I bought in NYC at Spandex World.  The top was my second blanc t from blank slate patterns. The pattern is generously offered for free if you join the facebook group or buy any other pattern.  I must have been cutting on serious sleep deprivation, because I cut out the front with no regard for the cut on fold line.  This effectively gave the top a good 3 extra inches in front, right through the neckline.  After I figured out why the neck was so huge and the top was so darn wide, I had to recut to fix, and there was not enough fabric to do an entire new front piece.  I was force to design a little blocking. It made it a little more on the dressy side.  Maybe I'll need that sometime.  Not in love with  it, but wearable.

And man, that shot makes me want a gastric sleeve and some running shoes AND spanks.  Maybe that's really not me???  Maybe that's really Stephie's eyes?  Maybe a better undergarment, and maybe not making the other error I'm getting ready to discuss would help this view.

The detail shot reveals adequate sewing skills, seams look good enough, top stitching not too shabby especially since I didn't use a twin needle.  If you look at that pocket curve though, it may look a bit short- because my waistband was about 3 inches shorter than the waist of this sucker and I didn't want to have to rip out said topstitching. I used the serger and I am feeling just a little apprehensive about taking off a full 5/8" seam allowance on a machine that won't give it all back if I have to rip it out. Instead of fixing it, I just folded the top over for the casing and said, forget about it!  Now I've barely got room to squeeze my hands in those openings, and I suspect that swayback effect may have been influenced by the waistband disappearing.  I may or may go back, rip out all the damn topstitching, and try to fix it now.  I would have to darn the buttonholes closed, but I could probably do that fairly inconspicuously and they would be covered by the drawstrings hanging down from the new waistband.  In any case, lesson REVIEWED here (no promises on lessons learned) is seamlines matter.

So, here is my favorite.  These trousers!  Very reminiscent of scrubs, my most favorite clothes in the world, but better!  The fabric was purchased at Mood in NYC, can you believe a linen/spandex blend????  It is quite stretchy with incredibly drape, but still retaining that fabulous summer nubby vibe of linen.  The waistband was for some reason a couple inches short again, but I took in 1/4" on each front/back inseam (1/4" x 4 = 1" reduction) and was able to ease the rest. I added 1 1/2" to the leg length and barely had enough for a 1/2" hem!  Next time give more for my 5'11" self. They are very high-waisted compared to what I normally wear, but very very comfy.

OK, this is definitely one of those "Ma" photos I was talking about.  The photographer is my 24 year old daughter who can smile into her phone lens on her work break at the chicken processing plant and look like a supermodel in love, but can't get a better shot of me than this???  I put on makeup and did my hair for these, never mind shooting up on me like you are 4 and I'm getting ready to aim a shoe at you!! How did she use the sun so effectively to make the highlights disappear and leave the flat looking lowlights like that?? Well, ha, she made my double chin disappear for a minute, so that's what she gets.  See what I mean about that drape in the linen though? The top was my first blanc t, the fabric from Joanne's (on sale now $8.49 ).  Nicole Miller is the "featured" designer for the store, and I have to admit, I love darn near every one of those fabrics in that collection.  It's not a great photo, but those are ostrich feathers and the color is fabulous, it's light and stretchy and comfortable.

Ahhhhhhhh, Moma loves ya babies.  If this darn laptop had photoshop installed, I'd show all of you how I look! In my mind.

A photo of me in 1982, when I ran PT in the German Alps with the US Army and still "knew I was fat". That bump is a gallon of some kind of liquor.