Is an Elastic Strap a Crime?

Again with the poor lighting! One day I'll have a mirror in an area with good light and a good camera. Until then, forgive my glowing shoulder....which leads to my main problem currently. The boning wants to sag and barely covers my bra.

Especially with the lined skirt attached, I have to keep pulling it up, and it didn't hit me until this morning that I should have stay-stitched or stabilized the necklines since they're on the bias. I was thinking I needed a tuck there, but then it occurred to me - not in the instructions, though they DO mention stay-stitching the front sides where the princess seams are. I think this pattern needs a couple of tweaks!

Oh, and what do you think about the shoe? Silver didn't go since the fabric has gold glitter over it, but is this too much going on with the ballerina ankle strap? But wait, I AM a ballerina of sorts (another annoying Pure Barre reference here).

Bad picture of the back of dress - these shoulder blades are registered as lethal weapons, and they do NOT lay flat.

Took care of the swayback with a 2" raise of the skirt when attaching to the bodice, which I've just basted together, by the way, so I can judge how to cut the real bodice.

Another frightening view of chest, which brings me to the title of the post. Is it wrong to find one of those clear elastic-y straps to hold this side of the dress up?

I've seen other women with off-the-shoulder dresses have that strap on the free shoulder, but is that only for pageants? The few PR-er's who've made this pattern didn't make this view. Otherwise I was thinking of lengthening the boning by an inch in front, or trying the other bodice that has a bikini-style top with narrow straps, though I wanted to avoid the rib cleavage of that one, plus even the line drawing of it emphasizes the hips. Your thoughts?

In other news, may I just say that I LOVE Nikki Minage on American Idol? She is kind to the contestants and approaches them from an angle of how they can be an inspiration to other people like them. And IMHO, Mariah Carey is a narcissistic Bee-Yotch! I have a hard time watching it because of her. With that off my (poorly covered) chest, I'm back to sewing.

American Idol Prediction Comes True

Okay, who's got an ear for talent? That's right - I do! I predicted Phillip to be in the top 2 (so Reed Grimm got sent home early, he was just too wacky) and he won it tonight - woohoo! My sister and I were furiously texting during the show - did your heart break a little when he started crying at the end and had to quit singing, then took off his guitar and just walked offstage to his family? My poor baby! He looked so sad. I hope his kidneys are okay.

And can I say something to the stylists this year? You rocked it, people! (I would put pictures here, but there aren't any on the internet yet.) The girls did a number and they all wore sequined dresses that were gorgeous. Then Fantasia sang with Joshua and wore this skin-tight sequined body suit thing that had slits in the legs from the ankle to the WAIST. The WAIST, people, so apparently there were no panties or Spanx involved. You go, girl! Then Chakah Khan....Chakah Khan....Chakah Chakah Chakah Kahn (hit it, Junior: Chakah Khan, let me rock ya', let me rock ya' Chakah Khan. Let me rock ya', it's all I wanna do. Let me take you in my arms, let me feel ya' wit my charms, Chakah. Cuz you know, I'm da one to keep ya' warm, Chakah....uh, it's a physical thing, let me rock ya' Chakah baby, cuz ya' make me wanna sing...yeah, something like that.) Oh, where was I - oh! Chakah Khan came out in the SAME DAMN sequined suit in a different color and without the slits. They made J'Lo look tame in her sequiny baggy-crotch pants! Oh, and the opening number had the top 12 all in white pants or dresses - everybody looked great, not a single dumpy-looking person in the group. It's amazing how good you look when your clothes fit properly! (Okay, I'll calm down now...deep breaths.)

Now back to the regularly scheduled post that I prepared earlier. So when I got sick of the shirt yesterday, I wanted to sew up a sure thing that I knew would fit. Then I got bogged down in fabrics and patterns....so I finished organizing my drawers. I first saw this method at Tigergirl's blog, and then Mimi G did a little video about it, so I went out and bought 6x9" envelopes and clear sheet protectors. Here's how my formerly disorganized pattern drawer looks now.

Here's the binder I have with the pattern envelopes in sheet protectors, so I can sit in the den with the family and flip through my patterns, instead of crouching over a drawer upstairs.

And by the way, everybody's been taking pictures of their stash, so here's part of mine.

Yes, I have 2 drawers with fabric like that, but I also have one shelf in this armoire with more fabric piled up (plus that green bamboo knit thrown on top), so don't feel too bad for me. You can also see a clear container under my cutting table with some more fabric...still, nothing like the walls of shelving that you people have!

Hmmm, should I feel jealous when I compare my stash to other PRer's, or should I think of myself as a woman with control over my addiction? Right, jealous it is - off to Hancock!

Goodbye Heejun?

I WILL go upstairs and cut out the moss green sweater knit dress with sleeves eventually. I just wanted to jump on here with my powers of observation and declare my prediction that Heejun is going home tonight from American Idol. I predict that Joshua Ledet, Skylar Laine, and maybe Phillip Phillips will be in the top 5. On second thought, it could be the tall blonde teenager that goes home - she did not have a good night last night.

That is all.

American Idol Girl Picks 2012

Yeah, I'm too tired to mess with copying and pasting pictures, so here's a list of my girl picks:

Hallie Day, Hollie Cavanaugh, Elise Testone, Skylar Lane, Erika van Pelt, and Jen Hirsh.

That's 5 of America's choices plus one wild card - you know each judge gets a wild card, right? I think there will be more boy wild cards myself, but America never fails to surprise - and frequently, upset - me.

There was one girl who was WAY off-pitch and just terrible, but if I were her, I would be horrified to read about myself here, so I'll leave it at that.

My Boy Picks for 2012

Okay, you already know my top 2 favorites are Reed Grimm and Phillip Phillips.


Phillip changed up Phil Collins' In the Air Tonight so much it was crazy. I wanted it to go a little faster, but it was still Adam Lambert-like in its creativity.


Here's the rest of the list in no particular order....







These next 2 are at the bottom of my list, although Colton may stick in there.



And I forgot to get pictures of Heejun and De'Andre with the long frizzy hair - they're definitely going home...I think. Since they have to cut so many, all I can say is that Jermaine is definitely staying (3rd pic from top).

And can I say how fast fabric.com is? I got my fabrics TODAY and they're already washed and dried and ready to go! I'm thinking an infinity scarf with the zebra knit - it's really thin and pretty sheer. Sheila linked a great tutorial for making one. Haven't figured out the moss green one yet...

American Idol - the Early Predictions

Man, it stinks to come home sick from a vacation. I'll never complain about living in the armpit of America again. (See, if Florida is an arm, Mobile is the armpit. Or say Florida is a leg, then we're definitely the crotch. And both of those are hot and humid, wouldn't you agree?) Colorado is beautiful, but being high and dry for a whole week hurts! I think I only slept well one night out of 5. That last night my throat was so sore and my nose was so stuffy that I dragged a chair into the bathroom at 11:30 PM (we'd left a light on for the boys) and read a book for 3 1/2 hours. The book was 1Q84, for anybody who needs a 1,000-page Japanese mind-boggler.

But I digress. We got caught up on American Idol, and here are my favorites. First is Reed Grimm, who is insane.



And who is also a dead ringer for Edward Norton, whom I love.



Second favorite is Phil Phillips, who reminds me of Dave Matthews with his voice and freaky leg movements when playing the guitar.


And finally, Heejun Han, who has an okay voice, but is mostly hilarious in a totally deadpan way. His whole bit with the overbearing cowboy was over the top, and when their group made it, he apologized to the cowboy and said, "I talked a lot of craps about you [behind your back], and I apologize to your parents." Ryan was interviewing him about being nervous and said, "What are you sweating right now?" Heejun says, "Mostly water."


In sewing news, I was a bad girl and bought some sweater knits online while I was freezing in Colorado. (I know, it's like grocery shopping when you're hungry, right?)


What should I make with this zebra thing? I have no idea, but it looked fun.


And of course we left 3 degrees in Colorado to return to 58 degrees in the armpit, so I better sew something up quick with these, or I'll have to save them for next year.

Idolmania is Now Over

Shockingly, I didn't even watch Idol last night. Neither contestant compelled me to watch and see what they came up with next, which is why I loved Casey, James, and Haley this year, and Adam Lambert last year - or was that 2 years ago? But I had to tune in tonight because I knew my favorites would be back.

Quick thoughts - I loved Haley's duet with the dude who's like Paul Anka - I just lost his name! She was jazzy and awesome and they tore it up. Jack Black and Casey were fun, if a smidge off-key at times, and I especially loved Scotty hugging each of his relatives during his last song then he comes to Jack Black, who holds his arms out for a hug right as Scotty turns to go back to the stage.

Lady Gaga sounded great and I like that song (Edge of Glory), but was anybody else squirming at the end when the guy climbed up behind her and they ended up on the floor - gasp! It was bad enough that Lucas was watching, but my MOTHER was there too. Oh Lady Gaga, why do you put me in the position of having to constantly defend your actions? At least she saved it by jumping off the edge of the platform with the guy, and that must've been 15 feet - Lucas totally forgot about everything before that.

But the best performance of the evening was by this guy. Oh, Tom Jones, you are still alive!


But you look like Grady from Sanford and Son!


Holy moly! This is what I remember you looking like:


(Mmmmmmm, Mama like.)

Now that brings me to a question. Who do you think was sexier, Tom Jones or Neil Diamond? I actually had a hard time finding a sexy picture of Neil in his younger days. He apparently gets around more here in the States than Tom does (I believe Tom is Welsh) so there are lots of pics of him in the, ahem, later years. This was an album cover apparently, although I think it looks quite vulgar.


I vote for Tom. I actually saw him in concert in little Jemison, Alabama, in the 80's and, sure enough, ladies threw their underwear on stage. My mother nearly knocked us kids down when she tried!

Oh, and here's a little fun from SNL last week if you missed it. Timberlake and Lady Gaga - best show of the year, I think. The previous link got removed, so here's a cute skit with just Timberlake. I hate the ads they force on you - sorry.

Internet is Back - Phew!

Who knew that unplugging and replugging your ethernet could fix a problem you had for days without the bother of undoing the modem and shutting down the computer in a certain order?! I do now.

So I didn't get to rant about Haley going home last week, and here we are at the finale already. I have nothing to say. Haley was diverse (oh, I guess I DO have something to say) and fun to watch, and ran around in heels even after the terrible fall in the first song last week. What a woman. I hope Lauren wins now, but there are apparently too many teenage girls crying and texting furiously for Scotty - that's my prediction.

So my sewing mojo was lifeless after the disappointing fitted shirt, but I had lunch with Robbie in Gulf Shores yesterday and felt better. Then my mom asked me to help her hem her jeans (okay, only sewing the hem, not pinning the hem, which I hate doing), and while we were in the sewing room I started pulling out patterns and fabric and got motivated again. She gave me some suggestions on the lilac shirt from several months ago that looked like this (Vogue 8558):


Look, I lost 10 pounds! Well, no, I shortened it and cut the sleeves off since they were too tight and I wanted to salvage the muslin. (See my old friend the shoulder wrinkle? Apparently I do need to adjust for forward shoulders since I don't like thrusting my chest out constantly.)


So here are the back wrinkles with 1/2" cut off the armscye between the lower notches.


And here we are with it lowered a total of 1.5". Fewer wrinkles! Now I think you're supposed to pivot the upper part of the armscye around to make the sleeve still fit, but this will be sleeveless so forget about that.


So I'm going to attempt self-fabric bindings on the armholes for the first time ever - wish me luck. Then I'll hem it up and wear it at the beach, ignoring the fact that it really needed a swayback adjustment. And I might make it into a longer dress version - rrrrrrow!

So it's ADHD sewing because I still need to try pants out of the Kwik Sew shorts pattern, and I have two Kwik Sew 2892 Beanbag chairs to make at the beach next week while I'm off (in between enjoying the actual beach with the kids, of course).

I'm sure I'll have more to say tomorrow after the finale - stay tuned!

Goodbye Paul, We'll Miss You

Oh, he was kooky and danced badly, but he had the whitest teeth I've ever seen and was the sweetest person on there. He sounded just like Rod Stewart. Why, America, why???? Why does Stefano stay week after week while you toss the likes of Pia and Paul??? Arrrgh.


So my prediction of the top 3 is ruined, because Paul got voted off last night. I also like Hailey, who'll probably get voted off any minute now. She's kind of weird and Dean calls her "Pig Eyes," but I like her voice and her growliness - she's not just regular white bread - that girl's whole grain, baby.


And I hereby declare Casey the winner, although America will probably drag Stefano all the way to the top - bleh.



Now to go finish organizing the Pack's camping supplies for the big campout tomorrow. Why, you ask? Because when the Cubmaster can't go on the one camping trip of the year, and no one else can bear to have the trailer of supplies in their driveway, somebody's got to man up and do the right thing. So Dean and I have a garage full of cooking equipment and supplies that have never really been looked at closely. The "coffee box" had creamer (open, mind you) from 2008 and a jar of Folgers from 2002. Is that the coffee I drank last year? Yikes!

Christmas Came Early

Oh, look what was on my doorstep yesterday when I got home! I ran around the house yelling, "The new sewing books are here! The new sewing books are here!" like Steve Martin with his phone books in The Jerk.



There was a Valentine's special at her website where you get a free shirt DVD if you order the Power Sewing Toolbox, so I had to do it. I'll study up before she comes in May for the Shirt Sit 'n' Sew, so maybe I can actually FINISH it, instead of just finishing a stupid POCKET, like I did with the jeans. (I do sew much faster now, so there's hope.) I've read the first 2 pages, which start with general tips. Number one was to take the phone off the hook (they're not ALL high-tech tips about linings). Another one was to set up a sewing day with a friend, get up early so you can pick up some pastries and coffee on the way, and enjoy some conversation before you bring in your machine. I like these warm and fuzzy tips! (Robbie, we should do this sometime...when our husbands/kids won't mind if we take over the kitchen and den for a day.)

And I stopped at Daphne Fabric and Lace on the way home from work Wednesday and picked this up for $2.00 a yard.



The color is off, but this is a green/blue striped knit and a rose something or other. The tag said something about crepe, and it feels like a medium polyesterish fabric, and the guy said he thought something like gabardine maybe, but we're no experts. It's very nice and drapey and I was just going to buy a yard or two for a shirt, but it screamed "Dress" at me, so I got 4 yards. (At these prices, you waste the guy's time hauling the bolt out if you don't buy a bunch, in my opinion. There's also the risk of a rat bite, given the looks of the place, so let's make it count!) Now the only issue is that I washed and dried it, and it feels a little coarser now with a little less drape. Hopefully this wasn't something that should be dry-cleaned only...I better consult my Betzina fabric dictionary for gabardine and crepe.

And to wrap up the week, my favorite Idol contestant made it to the final 24 last night, but when I was looking for his picture (thanks, TMZ!), it said he was in the hospital for a blood transfusion! He supposedly may be allowed to show up for taping - otherwise he has to drop out...can this be true? I'll be devastated.



So who else has the PS Toolbox books, and who are you rooting for on Idol? And isn't Steven Tyler a hoot when he closes his eyes while the contestants are singing? I like this season a WHOLE lot better than last year.

Finishing Up With the Offensive Stuff

Well, while we're on indelicate subjects, I'll post some Lucas-isms. The other night we were watching TV before he went to bed and he, uh, passed gas. He then said very seriously, "Mom, I'm a little worried about my farting situation." I asked him what the "situation" was, and it turns out he just had a lot of gas that day, which disturbed him. Funny conversation. (This concludes all discussion of digestive issues.)

Then we were driving to karate on Tuesday and he said, "Mom, I'm going to start doing a diet."
Huh? I ask why.
"Well, my legs are a little chubby."
"Yeah? Chubby compared to whom? A skeleton?"
"No Mom! And when I look down, all I can see is my stomach - it's a little fat."
This from an 8-year-old boy. My word, where do they get this from? (Hey, does my left boob look crooked to you?)

And now I have to go recover from American Idol. They sent Chris Medina home, who's engaged to the woman suffering from a brain injury. J-Lo broke down after she told him they weren't putting him through, so they had to postpone the rest of the results till tomorrow night. Thank goodness - my eyes are already swelling and Lucas almost cried himself. Now what if my precious chubby teenager from Louisiana doesn't make it? Or the funny red-headed boy? Or Scotty with the low voice? (Baby lock them doors and.....you'll get it if you've been watching him from the beginning!) But my absolute favorite is the scruffy boy with the beard who scats and had the tuning thing at his first audition - love that guy!

Oh yeah - my brother decided that poop from the last post was werewolf poop and I shouldn't go in the back yard when there's a full moon - good idea.

What Do You Wear With These Shorts?

Here they are on the actual child. This is what he wore to dinner. (But you know, it was to eat oysters, so obnoxious shorts and non-matching T-shirt are totally in order, and where are the flip-flops?).





OH - I have to say that American Idol was much more interesting last night, mainly because Harry Connick, Jr. volunteered his services to clean up the suckiness. He literally came out and said that he wanted to do the arrangements for each contestant and play with them on stage, and by golly, that did the trick! The contestants still sucked but at least HC provided comic relief. My #1 is now Lee - they had some fun chemistry together, and #2 is Big Mike because he's good at Sinatra, which was the theme. Sister Girlfriend (why can't I remember that chick's name?) did well, though the judges no-likey. And I liked Aaron, but Casey was BO-RING! Let's see, what did he do on stage....he blinked, and he took a few steps, and he blinked some more, and at the end he waved his arm around a little bit to indicate the big band was wrapping it up. I don't believe he bent his knees or his waist during the whole song - maybe we need to get him to a chiropractor or orthopedist - he could be suffering from spinal fusion or something! (I need to send him some jeans with zippered pockets - that'll inspire some boogey.)

I'm Sick of Idol

These people are so Bo-ring! Everybody should've gone home except Lee, Mike, and Mama Cass....I mean Janis Joplin....you know who I'm talking about, I forgot her name. Their ensemble songs are boring, their Ford commercials are boring, and I finally made poor little Lucas go to bed at 9:05 when it was obvious they weren't going to give the results till really late. (Drew ran into Lucas's room screaming with joy when Tim got the boot - they'd agreed they'd scream together if he left.).

Two Lucas syntax errors this week - walking in a building with two entrance signs, Lucas says, "Mom, I think we entrance over there." Cute. Then regarding corndogs (or as I think of them, puke on a stick), he says, "Have you ever noticed how they taste horrible when you get close to the stick? Wood plus dog equals horrible." (Clever and good at math, too!)

I'm also sick of trying to fit the Jalie 2909 pants - I stitched them up for good and basted the waistband on, which nearly reached my shoulder blades in the back, so I shall move it lower and try again tomorrow if I have time. These should be long enough the fabric is fabulous, and as long as I'm moving my legs nobody'll notice the wrinkles on the back. I'll just dance constantly - nothing new for me.

That reminds me that at a company party a couple of years ago, an administrator commented to my nurse about my supposed...uh...lack of sobriety, to which my nurse replied, "Oh no, she's not drunk. She acts like that at work all the time." (We have fun at work.)

Bye-Bye, Miss American Pie

That does it. I'm moving to Japan. Or Canada. No, it's not Obamacare. It's the fact that Americans love Tim. They sent Didi home tonight (despite the 50-60 phone calls I made on her behalf). And I know it wasn't good last night, but she knows where she belongs and she sang Rihanna tonight for her desperate begging song, but they didn't save her. They're probably saving the save for Crystal or Lee or Casey. So they sent home a cute blonde with such an interesting voice so we could keep watching 2 boring people (Tim and Katie) with no personalities. I mean, even the Ford commercial was boring tonight. And I think they got the memo about how boring everybody is because there was no group song tonight. Just P-Diddy with his gyrating women singing, "Hello. Good morning." Really very catchy. And Usher's song was boring, but at least he can DANCE, so that saved the whole hour.

Alright, off to pack my bag. Oh, and I'm not done yet with the jeans - still have topstitching/carriers/hemming to do, but I sew on them a little every night then wear them till bedtime - so comfortable! And I can even do a little "scratching" (like a DJ on a turntable) with these pocket zippers to go with my dancing - how hip is that? (Yes, very!)

What Gives, America?

Ooh, I just want to quickly say that I don't know what America is thinking! Why did Lilly get sent home last week, and why is Tim still with us this week? I would've sent Tim and Katie (? - the 17-yr-old brunette) home - she is so white-bread boring and Lilly was so multi-grain interesting with such a cool voice! The other blonde should've stayed too - much more interesting than the brunette. And Tim just can't sing, but he's got 9 brothers and sisters, so maybe their network of friends is what's saving him. Lilly, if you're listening, I'm sorry sweetheart - I voted for you 4 times and thought that would do the trick....I failed you!

American Idolmania is Back!

I missed it last night and haven't watched the recording yet, but tonight the hick blonde from Vonore, TN, reduced me to tears. They showed her jumping off bridges for fun with her friends, then showed her mama's trailer. She said she was doing American Idol because she didn't have "nothing else, except this dress, that I got for $4 at the Dollar Store in Smyrna." That's when I teared up. She wore her $4 dress to the audition and sang a really country song in a really good country voice, and Simon was very kind to her - that made me lose it. So Lucas and Drew were laughing their heads off at her accent and her bad teeth, and Lucas says, "Why are you crying Mom?" I said, "Don't you think it's nice when somebody who doesn't have anything at all gets something really good?"

The next hick guy who got made fun of really badly (he nearly died 3 times in his life, so they ran with that theme) made the boys laugh a lot, but Lucas actually said, "well it's really funny, but it's kind of mean that they're making fun of him."

Maybe he's learned something from American Idol....

Final Thoughts

Amy, I agree with you about the screaming. What really bugs me about it is the way he sticks his tongue out when he does it. The notes are beautiful, always perfect, but why does the tongue have to come out of the mouth? Now, I said always perfect, but that awful song that Kara cowrote sounded really off. I thought Kris sounded a little off on that one too, so maybe she wrote the wrong notes - HA! There was too much up and down and all over the place with it.

Yes, Mad World is the most beautiful song - we googled it and found a version where the guy made a video with school kids forming pictures shot from the roof of a school. I thought Kris's first 2 songs were fantastic. I beg to differ with Simon on the 2nd one - I thought he totally made that his own with new chords and there were strings in the background that made it fancier.

And for the first time, I didn't vote because I think both of them are fantastic. In other news, did anyone watch Glee? I guess that's taking the time slot - it was HI-larious! The cheerleader coach is the best.

Lynnstradamus

Please scroll back to "American Idolicious" - did I not predict Adam and Kris in the finals? Why were all the judges so taken aback at the announcement? They looked like they took a gut-punch when Danny got booted! I mean I can see that the guy's a little versatile, but he's also a little cocky if you ask me. Nothing approaching Anoop, but no hint of humbleness at all. So woo-hoo Kris! Momma loves you! You and Adam are both winners, oh wait, I hear retching...that'll be all.

Thoughts on Adam

I love Adam. He needs to join the family as one of my sons - it's that kind of love, not "boys, meet your new daddy" love. He seems terribly vulnerable and fragile - every time they compliment him he mouths "thank you." So humble. But I really wish he would stick with the ballads like Mad World - that was the best. The Led Zeppelin song (forgot the name - Alzheimer's acting up again) was lovely vocally (no, lovely is not really the word for that), but I don't like to see my boy looking so rough with the eyeliner and tough clothes. I think he could get in with the wrong crowd. Ever see Less Than Zero? I want Adam to avoid those types of friends.

And one more thing...the public who feel it necessary to comment on his gay-ness or non-gay-ness should just shut the hell up. You can't watch his you-tube videos without nasty comments all over the screen, and whose business is it? I'm just so proud of him and his very normal-looking parents who support him - it brings a tear to my eye. That's all - didn't mean to sound like my grandmother there but I had to get it off my chest.

American Idolicious!

We are truly American Idol freaks this year. We've been watching off and on for years since Reuben was on stage, but the past 2 years have turned into a family obsession. Michael Johns was my desktop background for many weeks, and I proudly point out that the "judges' save" was instituted after he was eliminated prematurely.

This year Adam may end up as my desktop, though Kris Allen is giving him a run for the money. That kid is so darn cute! Now Adam does need to lose the Elvis/Kurt Russell hairdo, but he has torn up 3 old songs in a row - I've downloaded Ring of Fire (the most bizarre!) and Tracks of My Tears wasn't available yet. I don't think I'll buy Play That Funky Music White Boy, but he totally pulled that off when I thought it would suck.

I've got to admit that I must have writer's block to be blogging about American Idol. What's happening here? I've got a funny idea about a bathing suit blog, but it involves pictures, so I anticipate a bit of a backlash. Let me think about it...

Oh, and P.S. I hypothesize that Paula and Simon are dating - always holding hands and acting stupid - you mark my words!