Book End

When I walked into Fabricland yesterday, I couldn't believe the number of people in there. There must have been an extra good sale going on because there were long line ups in the cotton section buying quilting fabrics at 50% off. I don't normally pay attention to that section so this was either better than normal or people wanted to get what they wanted before it was sold out.

While waiting in line to have my fabric cut, I overheard that they've already put out all the zippers in stock. The needles are severely picked over with only a few left. The thread is starting to look sparse. Apparently, nothing new will be ordered until they are in the new location - in April. There is going to be a LOT of frustration in town when people can't find the notions they need and...

... I'm going to be a part of that frustration both as a consumer and as an employee. The manager called yesterday afternoon and I'm hired starting next week. It's somewhat ironic that working at Fabricland will book end my child rearing years. I worked there six months before my first child was born and I'll be working there six months before my last child graduates.




I used a piece of the crinkle taffeta left from my Christmas skirt to make the waistband on the purple knit skirt. The colors are in the same family even though they look like distant cousins in this image. What cameras do to color is always intriguing. The two fabrics below also go together really well. In real life, the blue/black/purple print has WAY MORE purple. I bought them to co-ordinate.




I used the taffeta for the waistband because there was just enough of the skirt fabric left to combine with another fabric and sew a co-ordinated top. I already own Vogue 8649 below. The slimness of the waist with the gathers of the upper garment would be excellent for my bottom heavy figure. I'm not sure about those cut on sleeves though. Perhaps. Perhaps not. Perhaps with shoulder pads.

I like Butterick 5497 below even better, especially the print view with the prissier front and the open back. Fabricland will not be getting in any patterns at all - not even the new ones. Realizing that, I was "forced" to take advantage of the latest BMV club sale to order this pattern... and a few more... ten... which you know that I know that I don't really need. Like that stops any of us. At this rate, I'll need to clean out my pattern cabinet and make room. It's getting quite full and there are some "what were you thinking" patterns in there that could move along.

I didn't take the serger in yesterday so I'd like to do that today and then make a trip to the grocery store. After that, I plan to start sewing at least one, hopefully two, pairs of dress pants suitable for work. I also want to redo the hem on the purple skirt. I turned it up the 1 1/4" provided and machine stitched it in place and I think it's too bulky. I'd prefer to serge, turn, and top stitch along the edge.

I'm quite excited about going back to work, about sewing a work wardrobe, about having some structure to my schedule, and about getting out and meeting people who love to do what I do. The paycheque seems almost like a bonus because even though it's a minimum wage job, this will be the first time in a long time that I can count on a specific amount of income.

For our family finances, minimum wage works well right now. That income will be more my spending, decorating, keep busy money than our survival money. I'm thankful for that and, at the same time, I'm aware that for others that minimum wage is critical and making ends meet is a real struggle. There's a lot of talk about raising the minimum wage. I'm not sure how that would help. Briefly. Maybe. And then that increase would be passed on to the consumer again and that higher minimum wage would remain a struggle. It has happened in the past. It's one of those tough questions. I'm not going to try and solve it. I'm going to use what I have as wisely as I can and improve that ability with time. That's the best I can do.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - a job that seems perfect for this time in my life