Perhaps it was testing fate to say that I hoped to finish the skirt and the sweater by Friday. Yesterday, I knit the second sleeve - twice - and I'm about to knit it again. In fact, I'm about to knit both sleeves again and place the increases closer together, arriving at the full bicep width sooner to make for a nicer fit. So "all" I have to do is two sleeves, the button side of the front, the neck edge, and sew it together and the sweater is done. LOL - is it me or does that NOT sound like progress? It's very pretty though. I love the color. I'm looking forward to seeing it finished.
Lyn wrote - the key to living with my food issues is forward planning
This is my conclusion too. I'm working on a four day meal rotation and will expand from there into a longer plan. I want to make some soups that I can freeze for lunches and I'm trying for something quick for breakfast but... it's not working so far. On Monday, I made muffins and they looked like hockey pucks and tasted like yuck. On Tuesday, I made more muffins. They taste like glue - pink glue. A chef I talked to this past summer suggested I "find new favourites" which makes sense. Trying to duplicate what was doesn't usually work too well - VBG - except with sewing. I did a fabulous job with that ModCloth knock off if I say so myself.
Katherine wrote - I always knew your exhibitions pieces would be great but they are really stunning. I'd love to see more photos to get a feel for the exhibit as a whole. You seem so happy sewing fashion at present. You certainly have talent in very different areas of textiles.
Thank you Katherine and everyone who posted encouraging comments about the exhibit pieces. They are really appreciated. I dropped in yesterday with a friend who isn't able to make the opening on Friday. The show looks FABULOUS. Craig did an amazing job putting it together. I'll get some more photos at the opening.
I sometimes wish I worked in a different medium, one that was quicker, less expensive, and more universally accepted and I don't. I've always been drawn to textiles. I enjoy how they can be formed and shaped, the never ending variety of colors and textures, and the endless possibilities. Megs (my exhibit partner) and I talked about the joy/frustration of working in a format that is often viewed as domestic craft. Her work is so not table-wear. Mine is so not bed-wear. This is a struggle that we have both had to embrace and ignore because neither of us can imagine working any differently.
I am VERY happy sewing fashions at the present. It was thrilling to see those skills come back so quickly and to feel the addition of the attitudes I developed in textile art. Mostly, I am VERY happy to be away from the business, the constant marketing, the constant coming up with a new idea, the constant "buy me" aspect. It's absolutely wonderful to be creative from a purely personal and exploratory point of view and to have a studio that is a place of peace rather than pressure.
There are very few people that I would willingly sew fashions for which makes sewing them just for me. That sounds selfish. So much of my life is about supporting other people that it's not, it's the balance. Self care and balance are something that women especially need to pay careful attention to. I say it often that the care of the care giver is so overlooked. We cannot give out if we do not first fill our own gas tank.
Ann wrote - I have to confess that I didn't buy the Marcy Tilton skirt on Sunday when I was in Fabricland. I am worried about the length of the skirt and feel it would look frumpy on me. I am 5'6" tall but kinda short in the legs. I am long waisted.
It is SO IMPORTANT to know ourselves and to trust our instincts. I'm short waisted with longer legs. I wear straight skirts frequently and honestly thought that skirt would look good on me until I tried it on. I don't have a straight body. I have hips and anything hanging from the hips without a shaped hemline makes me look like I'm shuffling around in a tent so the part that didn't work for me was pushy outy bias sections. They made the hemline wide and uneven.
Did I know that before? Yes. Did I remember it? No. Does it matter? Not really, because when I put the skirt on, I trusted my instincts . It wasn't "me". I moved on. I didn't try to make it work or to convince myself it worked. I just moved on. It's wonderful coming back to sewing fashions with an "it's all entertainment" perspective and way less pressure on producing amazing end products. It's far more fun and - without that pressure - produces more amazing end products.
Perspective is an interesting thing. This photo by Norma Jean Roy for Glamour is of Crystal Renn, the highest paid PLUS size model. I think she looks AMAZING and I love, want, wear that style of skirt frequently although in a calmer, less dressy, version. The ad certainly had my attention.
There has been quite a bit of discussion about Crystal lately including two articles Is Crystal Renn's Success Really a Triumph For Size 12s? and V Magazine Can't Put A Plus Size Model In Its Pages Without A Straight Model For Comparison. She is 5'9" tall and her measurements are 36-31-41. She, supposedly, wears a size 12. How is that plus size? The average American woman wears a size 14.
Other than the fact that I'm 5'4" which is, yes, a substantial difference, my measurements are HB 36", FB 39", W 32", and H 43" which really isn't that far off and makes me even more shapely. I wear a size 9/10 pant and have squeezed into a few (not for public consumption) size 7/8's lately. A 12 is way too baggy so it must be those teeny tiny designer labels.
Crystal's story is interesting. After years of pressure, she put herself first, walked away from the unhealthy attitudes around and expectations of models, and ended up in a solid career. Sometimes the toughest decisions we make turn out to be the best ones for us. That's something for me to think about - my personal growth moment for today.
This morning, coffee with one friend, coffee and knitting in the afternoon with a new friend, and sewing in the evening in-between driving my son back and forth to work and youth. It sounds like a lazy day. Wonder why it feels busy? LOL - time to change my perspective.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - I know what's for dinner.
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