Thanks for all of your supportive comments in response to my last post. I also appreciated all the suggestions you gave me for creating a work wardrobe. Keep the suggestions coming! Love them.

I’m still reeling from how crazy last week was. On the same day I sent the kids back to school, I had to figure out daycare issues; find transportation to and from work; schedule soccer practices, piano lessons, PTA meetings, my husband’s social and work commitments…and how to put dinner on the table in a timely fashion.

I want to bury my head in the sand.

I’m sure things will get easier with time. If not, I’m running off to Antarctica to huddle on the ice with penguins.

So, not much sewing was accomplished. I laundered some fabrics. I traced off a pattern. I did finish one dress though and love it!

This is Simplicity 4074. It’s a great pattern. I’ve made a knit skirt once last year and decided to try the dress. It worked out great! I’m contemplating another. The only problem with it is it requires more yardage than I typically buy for knits. So, while I have a ton of knit fabric on my hands, I can’t use much of it for this dress. I’ll have to go shopping. Bummer…not!

What’s next? I have no flipping idea. I can’t decide whether a better use of my time would be to make dresses or to work on separates. I could use both. Right now, I’m just going to (try to) take a deep breath, relax and work when inspiration hits.

Vogue 1250 has taken the sewing blog world by storm in recent months, and for good reason. It’s constructed out of three pieces of fabric, goes together easily and looks great on everyone. You can see how it flatters a variety of figures by looking through the reviews posted at Pattern Review.

This is the perfect dress to whip up when you decide–at the last minute–that you need a new dress for a special occasion. That’s just what I did. My husband and I had a date to celebrate eleven years of marriage. While I have lots of nice things to wear, nothing spoke to me. I’m glad I pulled this pattern and fabric out of my stash! It was instant gratification and my husband actually appreciated something I made (he’s generally oblivious to fashion). In fact, he teasingly referred to me as his “trophy wife” and said my dress looked really “pro.” I don’t think this dress is really a showcase for sewing skills and I think his appreciation was more due to how body-skimming the dress is–but still, the compliments were good for my ego!

I like it better with a belt.

Many PR reviewers didn’t alter a thing on their dresses and they all seemed to fit great. I wasn’t content to do things the easy way, so I cut a size 10 at the shoulders, a size 12 at the bust (as a sort of “cheater FBA”) and a size 14 for my hips. I also shortened the bodice by 1/2″, because I apparently have a petite upper half, despite being 5’7″ tall.

I had considered making McCall’s 6069 instead, since I think the back on that dress is really pretty, but I had read that it tends to slip off shoulders. Since I already have problems with regular clothes slipping off my shoulders, I didn’t want to fuss with that. The back on the Vogue dress is plain, but there was never a problem with slippage.

One more photo, just for fun! This is my attempt at a sulty super-model look, lol.

P.S. We went to Village Sushi for dinner and it was ah-may-zing! Very, very good food, lovely environment and excellent service. Afterwards, we went to Giggles, a comedy club we had visited years before. Way back then, it was kind of seedy, but the entertainment was good. Apparently, it had turned into a strip club for a time and then reverted to a comedy club. It’s even seedier than it was before (the lap dance area was the kicker) and the acts were crass. I like dirty jokes as much as the next person, but they never moved on from low-brow humor. Despite that, or maybe even because of it, Robert and I had an excellent time!

I feel like a new person!

Even though I’ve used a lot of styling product in my hair, it just won’t do the cute “messy” look I was trying to create. My hair is too fine and straight. That’s ok, though, I really like how it looks and am happy I tried this. It’s refreshing to do something new every once in awhile!

Waffling about Sewing

Going into this project (Butterick 5284), I wanted to add one of the “special” details” to make this blouse unique and interesting.

I added the ruffles.

Which may have been a mistake–at least in this fabric. For this style, I think you need to use a fabric with lots of drape; otherwise, you’ll end up with something a little too “out there” a la Ruffles the Clown.

I’m torn…torn between my conservative self and my risk-taking self…no ruffles and HUGE RUFFLES…the sure-thing top that I’d wear all the time and the special top I’d wear when feeling the need to stand out from the madding crowd (sadly, not that often).

My inclination at this point is to remove the ruffles on this blouse and make it with a plain front. Then, when I find a fabric with lovely drape, to try a ruffled version. Drapey ruffles would probably look more elegant than clownish

Pattern Search

I noticed this pattern in the current Burda catalog and am curious if anyone remembers it being published in one of the magazines? I don’t want to buy a separate pattern if I could just trace it out from one of my back issues…

Waffling About Hair

Thanks for all your input about cutting my hair. I think I’m going to chop it off, just for fun, but am still a little bit hesitant. I made an appointment with a new stylist who happens to be one of my PTA friends. I think she’ll give me good advice too I played with the dailymakeover.com software some more and printed out a sheet of alternative hairstyles. I hope she won’t laugh at this (me) too much! I obviously had fun with the program.

More Changes

I’ve been feeling blue and listless lately so decided to do something about it. I joined a gym and have been swimming laps in the morning. I’ve been too sedentary for far too long. I hope I’ll start feeling energized physically and more upbeat emotionally. I may even take yoga and pilates classes when I get a little bit stronger. When I do that, I may have to sew some athletic wear. All of the exercise pants I tried on recently were far too short in the crotch depth and were both uncomfortable and embarrassing to wear.

Contemplating hacking off my hair.

Obviously, these hair colors aren’t quite right. Daily Makeover only let me pick two hairstyles before it demanded that I upgrade my account, so I didn’t get to try out anything else. Here are some other styles I like:

Last time I was at the salon I asked my stylist to cut a stacked bob like the last image, but she balked at that saying it was an “old lady style.” Why am I still attracted to an old lady style? I’m almost twice the stylist’s age, so maybe that has something to do with it.

Anyway, I’m due for a ‘do. Should I go drastic and get it chopped off, opt for something in-between such as getting bangs, or just get a trim?

Maybe I should dye it hot pink.

Can you tell I’m bored?

My family and I are really lucky. Just a short trip from our home, we can see Dahl’s porpoises, orca whales, foxes, bald eagles…and a whole host of incredible wildlife. The scenery isn’t half bad either.

I must confess: I’ve been out having so much fun that I’ve hardly given sewing or Me-Made-June much thought. On Sunday, my family and I were treated to a special outing by a good friend: we went sailing around Puget Sound. The weather has been unpredictable here, lately, be we lucked out. It was pleasantly warm, the sun was out and there was just enough wind to keep us moving on the water.

As far as Me-Made June is concerned, I did wear a home-sewn t-shirt and jeans, but they were mostly covered up by my ratty (but warm) fleece jacket and the life vest. I did a little knitting on a long-neglected shawl while I was on board. There are no words to describe how nice this experience was!

The following day, was the homecoming for our new family members, Bender and Zoidberg.

Due to allergy issues, we can’t have pets of the furry sort, so Claire talked us into getting a couple of fish. She checked out some books on fish from the library and read them cover to cover. She knows all about how to take care of fish now, so we’ll see how she does at animal husbandry. From her research, she became enamored with the Zebra Danio. I was lucky to find one. There was only one left at the fish store. The pink fish is the same breed as the zebra fish, but it has been crossed with an anemone to attain its glowing hue. It’s called a glofish.

Last night, I got all dressed up and went to my knitting group. We ate dinner, chatted, knit…and then headed off for some ice cream at Molly Moon’s. The ice cream was delicious, but it was something of a pleasurable torture, since we stood outside in the freezing wind while eating it.

I wore my Burda pleated knit dress. It’s not the most flattering style for my figure, but it’s very comfortable and allows me to gorge on treats like ice cream.

My husband’s birthday is on the 14th. He always manages to take me out somewhere nice on my birthday and on our anniversary, so I wanted to do the same for him. The hardest part of arranging a date night is finding someone to watch the kids. I managed to talk some family friends into a babysitting swap: they’d watch our kids tonight and we’d watch theirs next weekend. Our kids love playing together, so were looking forward to swap night as much as we were.

I got dressed up in my red dress, four inch heels and sparkly heart-shaped earrings. Robert put on a clean shirt and a smile (which is all the fancy dress he needs) and we were ready to go.

Rest assured, he also wore shoes.

We went to one of our favorite holes-in-the-wall: Mr. Villa’s.^[1]We drank margaritas, chowed down on some tasty Mexican food and finally got to talk one-on-one without interruption from little people.

Butterick 5315^[2]

Afterwards, we went for a walk at Matthew’s Beach and watched the geese and ducks splashing around in the water. This required changing out of my four inch heels, of course. I know some people can climb mountains and leap over crevasses in such things, but I’m not one of them.

1. ^[1] I notice that the Yelp reviews for Mr. Villa’s vacillate between love and hate. The same is true for the fish store where my daughter and I bought supplies to set up our freshwater aquarium this morning (more on this tomorrow–Claire & I are both excited about this). I’ve had wonderful experiences at both places–either I’m not as picky as other people or they’ve got little black rainclouds hovering over their heads.” ↩
2. ^[2] Yesterday I mentioned how the passage of time occasionally allowed me to love a me-made item more than I did when it was fresh off the assembly line. That has happened with this dress. I wasn’t completely enamored with it when I finished–and I’m still not 100% happy with the darts; however, I feel happy and pretty when I wear it. It’s also very comfortable, which can allow for over-indulging in yummy food. After dinner, I joked that I should have worn my apple dress, which restricts deep breathing and makes eating seem less pleasurable. It’s my “diet dress.” ↩

I thought I was having a bad day, given a migraine and a $40 parking ticket**, but my son has me beat. Poor guy.

**Thanks City of Seattle! Really makes me happy I was out supporting local businesses.

I have been having the nicest day and I hope all the other mothers out there have been too.

Mother’s Day chez nous started out with a scrumptious breakfast consisting of coffee (mandatory), bacon and crunch scrambled eggs. The secret ingredient in the egg dish was shell. MMMM…

While breakfasting, I got to admire some lovely presents from the family. Robert and the kids gave me a pot of miniature roses. So pretty! Claire made me a giraffe brooch and a card, both of which were illustrated so nicely. The best part was the inscription on the interior of the card.

Dear Mom,

I love you because you give me good stuff on my birthday.

Love,
Claire

I also had a great phone call with my own mother, who is the best anyone could ever ask for. I spent the rest of the afternoon thumbing through old photo albums. If you can’t be sentimental on Mother’s Day, when can you?

I believe this photo was taken during my mother’s senior year in high school. She looks so much more elegant than I did in my senior photos, what with the big hair and gloppy mascara.

And here are my parents on their wedding day, looking very giddy.

These photos seem to capture different aspects of my mother’s personality/life, which is why I like them so much. She can be introspective, but generally is outgoing and ebullient; she is classy and outdoorsy; she dressed me in pretty things and in scratchy plaid (I wouldn’t be surprised if she made both outfits).

I still remember the day this picture was taken. Mom had made sailor suits for me and my brother. Neither one of us was enthusiastic about wearing them and we were even less enthusiastic about having our pictures taken. There’s a whole series of photos from that day, most of which have one or the other of us –and my parents–looking exasperated. I had a good laugh over them!

And Now for the Sewing Angle…

The next Sew Weekly Challenge is to use a photo of our mothers (or grandmothers, etc.) as inspiration for our Weekly Creations. The pictures I have posted here are just about all the photos I have of my mother; unfortunately, they don’t show much clothing, except for the wedding gown (lovely!), all white outfit with the red bandanna, and the plaid shirt and hip waders. I don’t see myself wearing a wedding gown, all white (that’s a recipe for disaster!) or hip waders anytime soon. I wish I could see more of the floral dress and the polka dotted number.

I’m off do do a little brainstorming for the Sew Weekly Challenge, eat some pizza and watch bad TV. Sounds like a pretty good way to end this all around good day!