Mountain Of Muslins

This morning the sun is shining, the trees are standing straight and tall, and the grass is dry. It looks to be a beautiful day now that the weekend is over. It was cold, windy, and wet. Not at all perfect for the unofficial start of summer although we managed to get a lot of work done anyway. In the back yard, the bark mulch is finished between the hedge. In the front, we dug out all the plants, replaced the dirt, split the perennials, and replanted the main garden. We also filled the planters with dirt ready for annuals sometime later this week. I have other things to do first.




In-between gardening, I worked on muslins - a mountain of muslins. One thing that I've learned about PMB is how important the pattern editor function is. The slightest difference in a measurement can make changes that you hadn't anticipated. For instance, lengthening center back 1/4" lowered the armhole 1". Without the ability to compare the two patterns, you wouldn't know that. I needed to know and move the armhole back up.

I tried different scenarios each time making comparisons to ensure that the armhole and bust point and other key aspects remained in place. In the end, I didn't adjust for sloped shoulders. It doesn't appear that I have them because even a quarter inch adjustment left excess fabric at the neck. Instead I added another 1/2" to the front and back shoulder widths and...

... widened the neck because THAT WRINKLE appeared on all slopers no matter what other changes I had made. When I put the slopers on backward, moving the right shoulder to the left, the wrinkle still appeared on the right shoulder. It's not the sloper. It's my body.

My neck does not sit squarely in the middle. It is skewed to the right. My left shoulder is a half inch longer than my right shoulder. The only time this will be a real issue is with a collared blouse otherwise I can opt for wider necklines or less formal options. Luckily, I don't wear too many dress shirt collars. I'm glad to have finally figured this wrinkle out.

The quote is in, acceptable, and we're getting the patio poured asap. Work will start on Thursday. Before then, as in today, I'm going to paint the wood under the upper deck. Right now, it's brown. I want white. The contractor says it'll take about two weeks to prep, pour, face, and seal the exposed aggregate slab. Imagine, two weeks from now and I'll have a much cleaner, brighter, lovelier view from my studio. I'm so excited. There's a peace and calm in finishing things. Raw edges wear on me.

How do we manage everything? How do you manage? I'm not working yet I'm finding there is so much to do and not enough time. Between finishing the yard, trying to keep the house clean, hopefully cooking, and the list of things that need doing like window washing and painting trims, cleaning light fixtures, and much, much more, there isn't enough of me to go around. It seems as I take care of one area, another falls apart. I accomplished a lot in the yard this week and the kitchen is bare. I badly need to go grocery shopping. When? There isn't enough time for it all. It seems that in the past, I just didn't do all these jobs and maybe I can't do them all now. I'll need a system (or help) because all work and no play makes Myrna a grumpy girl. It's not good. I'll think about that while I'm painting.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - My oldest son was in a car accident on Friday night. He is fine. The other driver was sent to hospital with minor injuries. No one died. I'm so thankful. My son had gone away for the long weekend with friends so didn't come home until yesterday. I could hardly wait to hug him, count fingers and toes, and see for myself that he truly was okay.