Unevenly Distributed

Today is my gorgeous daughter Jessica's birthday. She's our best Christmas gift ever. Happy Birthday sweetie. Enjoy Snow White! Wish I was there to help you celebrate. XOXOXOXO !




On Friday, I sewed a second Christmas top using this flocked knit. Having learned my lesson, I did NOT attempt to fluff it up in the washer afterward - LOL!




Getting dressed Saturday night, I decided it didn't go with the skirt. Either it was visually too heavy or proportionally too long or maybe too simple - possibly boring - of a style but it and the skirt didn't feel right together so I wore a top from at least ten years ago, which is one of the very few aged garments I own. It has a similar, off the shoulder look, to the shrunken one.




My glasses were black with rhinestones in the corners. They're part of the collection I ordered from zennioptical.com with 15 different prescription pairs for just over $200.00. Since I wear glasses all the time - and am having trouble wearing contacts now - it's nice to have options HOWEVER... I need to remember to take them off for pictures to avoid the glare.




I wore the "new" top with jeans on Sunday afternoon. With this second one, I left the front the same as the first version and scooped the back to just above my bra strap. Even though this didn't make the neckline wider, it felt a LOT wider. I wore a scarf yesterday to keep my neck warm and...




... sampled tying it down the back to see how that looked. Hmmm... maybe not! Years ago, I had a wonderful sundress that was scooped in the back to just above the waist. If I'd already owned the right undergarment, I might have tried that however, with the way I'm changing sizes right now, I wasn't going to spend that kind of money on a one occasion piece. LOL - it would have been fun though. Maybe I'll make another sundress like that this summer.




The great thing about sewing a pattern twice in fairly close succession is the learning. I can actually remember what happened last time and include how the t-shirt feels when wearing it for a full day. I knew that I was unevenly distributed front to back and even so, making the changes to the pattern was an eye opener.

The first t-shirt was uncomfortable through the underarm. It's like the armpit is eating up the fabric pulling it through to the back and creating a twisted and tight feeling at the front. This same type of eating up happens with crotch seams when the back crotch isn't extended far enough forward. It was my own fault. When I cut out the pattern the first time, I wanted to test it "as is" and didn't alter the under arm side seam. Typically, I widen the back and narrow the front by one inch right at the point where the underarm turns to go down the side seam.

Last time, with the pink one, the front was narrowed by an inch each side at the hem while leaving the back intact. Altering the pattern to accommodate the underarm adjustment AND that previous hem adjustment showed me that I can cut out a size fourteen through the center front, neck, shoulders, and armhole front and back and then begin the underarm seam for the front at a size ten (two sizes down) and for the back at a size eighteen (two sizes up) AND...




... the bonus is that it's less awkward. Above, I traced the front side seam down to the hip by graduating from a 10 to a 12 to a 14 and on the back by simply following the size 18. As you can see in the image, these were much smoother lines to draw and sew together and create a flatter side which mimics my body more closely. I wore it all day yesterday and it was REALLY comfortable which - of course - has me thinking about pants.




Remember when I made these purple pants? I took this picture to show how much I'd narrow the front by next time. Well guess what... that would be the exact same discovery. Once again, I'd cut out a smaller front than back size and the amount of difference is about the width of the front dart because that's how much I'd narrow them. By cutting the smaller size for the front and then eliminating the dart, the waist would remain the same size and the front width would be narrowed and more flattering. Can't wait to try that on my next pair of pants for the SWAP. I'll sew this pant pattern again.

This morning, I'm off to breakfast with a friend and then I plan to do some paperwork both personal and business. This is the last official quarter of my business even though I've been doing no work since the end of August. As of December 31st, it is legally closed in terms of deductions, year ends, taxes, and so on. I want to get that out of the way so that come December 26th, I'm totally free to work on the SWAP (sewing with a plan). LOL - I want to but I also want to finish knitting that sweater I spent a lot of time on yesterday so we'll see what really happens. Sweaters most likely call louder than paperwork.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - for Jessica

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Personal Growth - Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all. Run to God! - Proverbs 3

At the party Saturday night, it was obvious that Howard was in a lot of pain. We didn't stay nearly as late nor dance nearly as much as we normally would have. That night, I barely slept. Both my conscious and subconscious wouldn't let go of the possibilities. He will get some more test results tomorrow afternoon. I'm hopeful that some of them will be definitive. Either way, I want to trust God to lead and guide and I want that peace that passes understanding. We've been down this road before. It's unwelcomingly familiar. I want to be strong. I don't want to fall apart before, during, or after.