What??

It's April 17th already.  I haven't posted since January.   I have thought of numerous things I wanted to blog about, but for one reason or another didn't.  Mostly it's because I want to post pictures when I blog.  But I don't have a good place to take pictures.  Especially when I want to take pictures of smaller items, such as a bottle of nail polish.  Clothing items I can just hang on the back of a door.   The smaller items I really have to work at getting photographed.  I enjoy blogging even if I don't have pics, so I'm just gonna do it.  lol

Fabric and Sewing and Patterns! oh my!
My sewing mojo comes and goes.  Mostly it has been on vacation, at least for the past couple of years.  Same for my knitting and crocheting mojo.  I have decided that I will go into my studio and sew every day.  (I have a dedicated room for sewing. So I can leave everything as is when I want to quit for the day and don't have to put everything away.) Even if for only 10 minutes.  I use the term sewing to include tracing off patterns and cutting out, as well as taking needle and thread to fabric.   This past week I worked a few minutes a day on McCall's 6287.  I'm making the top, view A, in black jersey, as shown on the pattern envelope.  I'll post a pic when I have it completed.  It calls for leaving some of the edges unfinished, which I don't care for.  I'll be using my cover stitch machine to finish them.   I also got a couple more pieces of fabric and will post pictures as I complete the garments.

I haven't been following all the sew-a-longs, SWAPs etc as closely as I normally do either.  :( I still have pics of a SWAP on Flickr, I had planned a few years ago and never followed through on it.  I'm thinking of updating the patterns and finishing it.  I AM interested in seeing all the jackets that have been made for the 12 jackets in 12 months challenge.  I live in Florida and rarely wear a jacket, even in the winter.  But after receiving last month's Burda, and looking through it, ironically, I only saw one pattern I was interested in sewing.  The parka on page 57.    I'd like to make it in a forrest green or dark teal.

Sewing/SWAP

I started this blog in April 2006. Initially it was to communicate with a sewing sister about my "Sewing With a Plan" or SWAP. I didn't complete the SWAP. The patterns I chose to sew up can be seen here. I still have all the patterns, most of the items are still in style. The most trendy item was the Butterick twisty top 4789. I am still planning on making a "SWAP", I'm just not sure when I'll get around to it. I was going to wear the new wardrobe at my paralegal job. Since I'm not working as a paralegal, I'll need to make a few changes in the colors.

A lot of cosmeticians (and estheticians) wear primarily black. This way the client is the "star of the show". I'm not sure where I heard that. Maybe Tabitha's Salon Takeover. Although I think she was referring specifically to hairstylists. One of my instructors told the class that estheticians wear black. Good thing I look good in black! LOL!

SWAP

I worked on my SWAP storyboard this evening and finally got it finished. It's pretty ambitious, but I'm not in a hurry to complete it. I’ve chosen the patterns and the fabrics I want to use for each one. I do have a few of the fabrics on hand. I won’t call it a stash. My colors are going to be grey, black, white with burgundy, pink and red accents. These are the patterns I’ve chosen:
pants-black-Simplicity 4273 view E
pants-grey-Simplicity 4135 view A
pants-burgundy- BWOF 1/2006 102B
pants-herringbone-Simplicity 3690 view A
gauchos-grey-Butterick 4861 view E
skirt-black-possibly McCall's 5330 view A
skirt-burgundy-Simplicity 4787 view C
skirt-grey/red/black print BWOF 8/2007 113 B
jacket-grey- McCall’s 5193 view A
jacket-black-Simplicity 4273 view A
jacket-burgundy-McCall’s 5529 view B
vest-grey-Butterick 4815 view C
vest- herringbone-Simplicity 3690 view D
top-black/red/pink print- Simplicity 4112 view B
top-white-shirt-McCall’s 4922 view c
top-black-Vogue 8152 view B
top-garnet red-BWOF 9/2007 101 B
top-gray/red/black print- Butterick 4789 view A
top-grey-Vogue 8151 view A
dress-grey-jumper-Simplicity 3673 view A
dress-red-Vogue 8280 view C
dress-black-New Look 6429 view combination of C & E
dress-black/red/grey plaid McCall's 5466 view B
trench-periwinkle-possibly Simplicity 4084 view C
jacket outer-black with animal print lining-Vogue 8307 view A
Like I said, it's very ambitious. As soon as I get closer to my goal weight I can start fitting and sewing. The Simplicity trench and Vogue jacket I can go ahead and make, since they won’t require precise fittings. Living in Florida, I have plenty of time before it starts to cool off.

My diet today consisted of basically the same thing I’ve had since Monday. My fav breakfast, a protein bar, today, and a strawberry pineapple protein drink. Last night and tonight I had baked skinless, boneless chicken cut in cubes and mixed with raisins and curried mayo. I LOVE curried mayo!!

I did the 20 minute aerobic session today. I have also been doing "vacuums". I believe this is a yoga position, many of you may already know about it. I
"relearned" about it when I got the Body Flex tapes several years ago. I didn’t think just breathing would help me loose weight or tone up, but I did think it would help me to "breathe better". It did and this position also helped make my abs smaller.

New Autumn Patterns

After looking through the Big Four‘s new autumn patterns, I’ve chosen a few that I would like to sew. I didn’t see very many that called my name and demanded to be put on my sewing list though.

I’ve always liked Butterick patterns so the majority of the ones I’ve chosen have been from Butterick.




Number 5100 is a cute tunic! It can be worn a number of ways. I like all of them except the dress. I would also wear straight leg pants with it instead of the tapering ones.




Butterick 5101 is a wrap dress and top with an elastic waist skirt and pants. I like the jacket, even though I’m sure there are others like it that is prettier. I just haven’t found one I really like yet.




I love 5087. I could see view B in a royal blue hound’s-tooth check with a black belt and black pencil skirt.






I like the simplicity of 5066. Since my SWAP colours are black, gray, and white with splashes of red, burgundy and pink and maybe royal blue. You know I love the ensemble as is with a red shoe and bag.



I envision New Look 6729 view A without the bell sleeves in a pretty shade of pink( such as Pantone Confetti 16-1723). I would maybe think about wearing a thin lace cami underneath and an animal print ballet slipper with it and jeans.








And the last one I really like is 3673. I love the retro look, although it’s usually garments and patterns from the 1940s era.







I've also been looking at Ralph Lauren's collection for fall. I love the menswear look and this particular one is my favorite.




When I was a junior/senior in high school my favorite outfit was a black & white hound's-tooth pencil skirt, white shirt, black vest with a tie and heels. I stood out like a sore thumb. I never fit in growing up, from my music (blues, Motown, good ole soul music, while everyone around me was listening to country), to my political views (I was a registered Communist, please don't ask, Angela Davis was a personal heroine, again, please don't ask) to the clothes I wore. I was goth before it was called goth. I believe it was the summer before my sophmore year, I refused to go out of the house unless I was totally covered. I have pale skin anyway and refused to tan. I died my hair jet black and wore red lipstick and all black clothes. I lived by the personal motto "Why be normal?". I guess the few friends I had got used to my weirdness. And the others were afraid it would rub off on them! LOL I still struggle, but I think I'm really close to normal now! (yeah, right.)

Weekends

I always look forward to weekends. Even when I'm not working. It's a time to relax and not think about things seriously. Time for gathering with friends and hanging out. Time to sew and craft and shop. Three of my favorite things! oh! and catching up on a few of my fav TV shows. I don't watch very much tv, but I do have a few favorites, Boston Legal, Nip/Tuck, and The Riches (LOVE Eddie Izzard, he's hot!). I keep up with Dancing with the Stars, but don't watch it any longer.
Several days this past week we have had smoke from the fires in Georgia and north Florida. It is awful. I can only imagine what it is like to live close to the fires. It's hazy and the odor of the smoke is horrible. It's difficult to breathe and there is ash on everything.
The odor and haze wasn't so bad this morning. I was able to go to my WW meeting and to Joann's Fabrics. They had a sale on McCall's, Butterick and Vogue patterns.
I picked up Vogue 8307 (when I try to link to this pattern the site tells me it isn't in the database yet, yet if you enter the number and do a search on the Vogue site you can see it), I plan on making the jacket in a charcoal gray wool melton and line it in red or bright pink. I also got Butterick 4986, and McCall's 5193, 5395, and 5314. I'm not sure what I will use to make these. I also picked up some tags for altered art and Quilled Greetings Cards.
I've been talking for ages about my SWAP. I'm slowly, very slowly, agonizingly slowly working on it. The truth is...I am just not going to start sewing on a new wardrobe until I get to my goal weight. I don't want to have to keep tweaking the patterns to fit me. Failure to reach said weight is not an option, no matter how long it takes. So, until then.....I'll just keep planning.
That's the way I am. I will talk and think about something for a while, depending on what it is, the "thing" I want to do may take a few minutes or a few years. But, once I make up my mind to do something, watch out! here I come! LOL
I have been reading other blogs and marveling at the beautiful green plants. Here in Florida it seems like we are always on water restriction. We don't have a lot of green in our yard. I wanted to do some landscaping this year, but it now low on the priority list due to me leaving my job earlier this year. I did plant some caladium bulbs a couple of weeks ago and they are coming up finally.

White blouse

I need to make a white blouse. I'm thinking McCall's 4079 pattern would make a nice top. It has a collar that will stand up a bit, and I can turn the sleeves up for 3/4 length. I might make the body with a little less ease.

I want to wear it untucked with a black pencil skirt and a red belt, with red peep-toe heels. I would wear silver hoop earrings and wear my hair in a high ponytail. My hair is below my waist, so I think that would just add a bit of flair to the outfit.

I could also wear it with a pair of black or charcoal gray trousers. I think these will make a foundation for a black/white/gray mini SWAP wardrobe. I could also pair it with a gray skirt.

Tomorrow

Is my last day of work. Only 8 hours to go. Funny, I'm feeling a little anxious about it. Looking forward to it too! I have two assessments I have to complete tomorrow and then I'll just be there to answer any questions my replacement may have.
I'm still attending my Weight Watchers meetings. I've lost 11 pounds so far. It's a start. I'm not being obsessive about it, eating too much of some things I shouldn't. But as long as there is a downward trend I'm happy. My goal was to lose 5 pounds a month and so far, I'm meeting that goal.
Starting tomorrow I'll be able to work out on almost a daily basis. I'm looking forward to that too! I love to exercise and workout with weights. I like feeling strong...being strong. Before I injured my knee and had to have surgery, I worked out six days a week.....had a 6 pack! LOL Looking forward to having one again.
Looking forward to having a new wardrobe too! I've talked a lot about the SWAP storybook. I'm holding off sewing anything until I'm about five pounds from goal weight. I'm still collecting patterns and fabrics to make the new wardrobe. I'm watching What Not to Wear getting ideas for clothes that will look good on me. I'm also checking out magazines such as Vogue and Glamour. Although Glamour may be a little too "young" for me. I think I could adapt some of the fashions to suit me.
I'm also going to get started on "The Artist's Way" tomorrow too. I've been putting that off until I have some free time.
I want to make the most of the three-four months I have off. there is so much I want to do and I'm not sure if I'll have enough time to complete all my goals.

SWAP.....Again

I've been putting line drawings of the patterns I want to use in my SWAP on my website. It's just very difficult to decide which ones to use. Which ones that would be flattering on my body shape. Which fabrics to use with the patterns. What colors to use.

After I decide which ones I definitely want to use I need to alter them so they will fit properly. I don't have any TNT, tried and true, patterns that have already been altered. I haven't sewn clothes for myself since my weight gain. It's going to take a while to get the clothes made. I won't have as much free time as I used to have.

I could try shopping again, but I'm still stinging from the disappointment from the trip earlier this week.

What fun!

Ever the one to get distracted when reading email, I managed to find a blog where someone was challenging others to read 1-2 books a week. Each person will make a list of the books he/she is planning to read. Now, at the beginning of the year, I vowed to read one book a week. I haven't kept up with the reading. I believe that making myself accountable to others may make it easier to get all my reading done. Some have also suggested books to read, such as books by the same author, or books of poetry, books with the same theme, books on the same library shelf etc...I will try to complete the books I have already started. I've only started two that are on my list. I have a LOT that I want to read.

I buy, on the average 5-6 books a month. I have books on a variety of subjects. The "Dummies" books are some of my favorites. But I think most of them might be too long to read in a week. I don't particularly like to read novels. Maybe that should be my challenge, to just read novels. I do have a few of them.

One of my other challenges for this year was to take a knitting class. I learned to knit when I was 11-12. I wasn't very good at it and soon other things occupied my time. The local Joann's has classes and it would be fun to socialize with others who are learning also. The person that suggested the reading challenge is a knitter. I hope we don't have to be a knitter to join!

I'm continuing to work on my SWAP storyboard. Just when I think I've got a working one, I see where it could be improved on. I've also ordered more fabric. A lovely pink, gray and white striped lightweight stretch poplin for a shirt. I'm waiting for a sale at Joann's to get patterns. Simplicity patterns will be on sale next week. I keep a list of the ones I want on my PDA.

Well, off to do some work on my story board!

SWAP

I really dislike staying up at night when everyone else is sleeping. But, I need to so I will be able to sleep on Fridays, to stay up for work Friday night. It just seems to add to my depression.

So...I've worked on my story board for SWAP tonight. Since I will be starting my paralegal class in a couple of weeks, I figure I will need a totally new wardrobe. Jeans and scrub tops just won't be appropriate. The old plan for summer just won't work. I've taken a lot of ideas from WNTW's Stacy and Clinton. I've made notes on what I know to look good on me and will try a few of their ideas for my body type. I love to dress up and can hardly wait to start the class, meet new people and have a new job.

Ramblings

Work was a bear this past weekend. All the paper work has to be changed over for the beginning of the month. In a 12 hour shift I barely had time for a 15 minute break to eat something. I was so tired when I got home I just fell into bed. And on top of that I contracted a respiratory infection.

Yesterday I went for the admissions interview for the paralegal course. Today I have to take my paperwork for a Sallie Mae loan. I'd rather just sleep all day. Classes start June 6th and run until August 1, 2007. They are night classes. I wish they were during the day. The class wouldn't last as long and I could get out of nursing sooner.

On the bright side, I have a stash!! I have acquired several lovely onionskins from Emma Onesock. A couple of cottons from Candlelight Fabrics and a nice lycra piece from Fabric.com. I also got some swatches of fabrics that I like a lot and will order some next week.

I've been thinking about the storyboard for my SWAP. It's taking a lot longer to get together than I thought it would. Due to the fact that I have to order fabrics and wait for them to arrive to see if they really coordinate. I haven't really found anything I like at Joann's.

I order books from Amazon about twice a month. I've been reading a lot about altered books and journals. So, this last order included Altered Book Collage and The Decorated Journal. I have tons of ideas for altered books and the like. I'm starting to collect items such as paints, tissue papers, charms etc for these.

SWAP

SWAP is Sewing With a Plan. For those who aren't familiar with SWAP, it is a capsule wardrobe where each piece coordinates with all the other pieces. I have been working on my storyboard and deciding on colorways. I don't have a stash like so many other sew-ists. I'm working on a casual summer wardrobe for now. If I am able to take the paralegal course, I'll need more business clothes. All I wear now is scrubs. I'm looking forward to being able to dress up.