Fitting With Pantyhose

Lisa wrote - I loved seeing your angels, but wanted to let you know that I suspect that the little "school craft fair angel" this is your favorite might have been made with corn husks, not paper ribbon.

Thanks for the link Lisa. That information explains why this angel has been so durable over the years. About the time I bought it, paper ribbon crafts were also quite popular so I just assumed that's what it was. Corn husks makes a lot more sense.

We decorated our tree Saturday night. It looks much prettier than this picture especially when the room lights are dim and the tree is twinkling. Instead of the larger bulbs, we put mini lights on this year, about 750 of them - LOL. There were great long strings of lights running up and down the hallway waiting to be wrapped around the tree. It reminded me of ripping out a knitting project. The tree skirt is one of my earlier projects made over twenty years ago. How to make it was one of the first classes I taught.




The ornaments are a mix of ours and the boys. Each year, I give the kids an ornament with their name and the year on it. A few years ago, just before Jessica moved out, I realized that when they all left home we'd be ornament-less so I started buying one for Howard and I as well.

This year, I had an agreement with Jessica to give her money and let her chose her own. I thought that would be a nice tradition as well. Hmm - right - NOT - a 47 year old woman crying in Pier I because she's NOT buying an ornament for her daughter is really not a good idea. I didn't go there. I decided she could have a tree in her basement of ugly ornaments my mother gave me - VBG. Maybe when all three of them have moved out we can change things but not yet. This year's ornament was a Santa tree that all of them said was "not bad".

When I made the purple pants - thanks for all the compliments BTW - they fit fabulously until the next day when I put on pantyhose and then they were too big. Because I'd used a waistband instead of a facing, I could still wear them but apparently pantyhose condense me more than I thought. I'm debating to how to deal with that because I had the same problem again this weekend with the lace skirt.




Fitting the garment while wearing pantyhose is an easy answer but not the whole one. Neither is using elastic on every project. It's not my favourite look. On Saturday, when I wanted to finish the lace skirt, figuring out waistband measurements wasn't something I wanted to deal with so I cut a 2 1/2" strip of knit lace, folded it in half wrong sides together, and stretched and stitched it to the skirt.

Then I folded the lace up and over the seam allowance and stitched in the ditch from the right side to hold it in place. The ends were trimmed even since they're knit and won't fray. That also left an opening and potential pocket that elastic could be run through if necessary and...

... sure enough, Sunday morning saw me sliding elastic through and stitching it at the side seams so that only the front pulled in more snuggly. Hmm... have to figure this out. I don't want to do that on every garment. Part of the answer is removing some width through the front. I saw that with the pants as well.

Elizabeth wrote - this may be a stupid question - but why not cut the pattern to your bust size and widen it down to your hips?

Not a stupid question at all. That's exactly what I would do normally however, this Vogue 2893 pattern is out of print. Buying a new one in my current size wasn't an option and the one that I have was bought years ago before I started losing weight and is several sizes too big. Learning how to make this adjustment has been good learning and will be valuable for the other "too big" patterns that are in my stash. Next time, it'll be a lot faster. I'll do that up and over adjustment I showed on Friday.




There was still some slashing and tucking to get the waist and hips the way I wanted them however, by Friday afternoon, I knew that moving the underarm had worked fabulously. The sleeves are pulling a bit because the elastic is too tight. I cut it slightly smaller than the length recommended for the size eighteen however, I think it needs to be 1/2 - 3/4" longer to sit nicely. It has to be short enough to keep the top in place and long enough not to look squeezed. I'll work on that with the real thing.

The silk dupioni that I had intended to use didn't work out. There wasn't enough fabric in the re-purposed dress and the additional yardage faded significantly when I washed it which was just plain weird since I washed it the way I always wash my fabric - however - that wasn't according to the washing recommendations so it's my fault. Later on, I'll overdye it. For now...

... I've used the wrong side of a stable knit. The right side was okay. The wrong side was better - a dark, rich black with bit of a nap. IMHO the visible and tactile texture far beats flat. Both sides are difficult to press. Even with a press cloth on top and a fluffy base, the seams are showing through slightly. Hopefully, the nap will spring back when I wash it - later - when I'm done.

I'm hoping to sew today but I'm not really in the mood so we'll see what happens. Tomorrow is knitting and on Wednesday the curator for my January exhibit is making a studio visit to see the pieces. Thursday is the start of Christmas get togethers with friends - a breakfast. Saturday is the party though so I'm definitely aiming to be done by then.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - health

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Personal Growth - Karen wrote - Angry? Unreasonable? Boy did you hit the nail on the head for me. I used to be so obnoxious that no one wanted to be around me when I was stressed out. I've lost a lot of friends because they do not understand this type of reaction to stress. Scared is exactly what happens. I am trying very hard to learn to turn it over to God so that I don't offend my "friends" any more. I don't know how well I am doing. Seems like friends wouldn't cut you off no matter what your reaction -- but that doesn't always hold true.

You've touched on two things Karen - stress and friendship. As much as we would like our friends to be there for us through thick and thin, the reality is that friendships come and go and that many go during our times of trouble. We only have enough energy for what we're dealing with and not enough to maintain the relationship so unless that person is willing to take over for a time, the relationship fades.

Experience tells me this most often isn't deliberately cruel, it just is and although it hurts, there is nothing I can do about it but chose my actions. The thing that I find the most difficult is the friends who say they will be there for you through thick and thin and then fade away, typically in a way that - if they were thinking about it - they know will be hurtful to you because it's something you've already talked about. And again, what is, is. All we get to chose is our actions.

This has been a tough year of relationships in my life and yet, it's also been a good one. Since last Christmas, four friendships have ended for who knows what reason. I don't ask anymore because I never get an honest answer anyway - just a pat one like I'm too busy. HOWEVER, this year, I've learned to match friends and that has been fabulous. Instead of giving them the whole darn alphabet like I'm inclined to do, I've instead learned to mirror their actions. If they do A, B, and C, then that's what I do too. It's been a good learning process. Over the course of the year, I've become more realistic in my expectations and even more comfortable by myself than I was before, a good thing.

Stress and turning things over to God is hard, hard, hard - at least for me - which is perhaps why I have to learn the lesson over and over. I prefer something tangible that I can put my finger on, research, find answers to, and deal with. The greyness of never never land is a difficult space for me. I'm there again.

We got some bad news on Friday regarding my husband's health. The "we don't know what it is but it's bad" kind of news that leaves him taking tests and us waiting for results with nothing specific to deal with. I understand what you're going through. In situations like this, I constantly remind myself that God - as opposed to other humans - never lets me down. I can count on him. Breathe. We can do this. HUGS.