Running or Dancing?

Oh, the Cora running tight.....it is ON. Lucas said I look like I'm on a dance team...that was when I was barefooted in a T-shirt. You know I had to try it with my purple Ivanka Trump heels and matching top - now who feels like dancing?!


The polka dots take it to another level...quite possibly DOWN a level....but they're hilarious.


Okay, this is more appropriate, uh, except for the muffin top created by the pants being a size too small. Guess I'll size the next ones up.


Or wear a looser shirt. Love that they match my shoes.


Here's the waistband - I love how this is all sewn together with a very comfortable waistband, but the blue contrast is making me look really odd-shaped, like my knees are bowing towards each other...weird.


My phone actually fits in this pocket!


Okay, seriously, this is nylon lycra swimsuit material, so I'll burn up if I run in it, but I do plan to make it in some Dri-fit fabric, hopefully, if I can find that online. And I'll make it larger, promise! Now to find some ribbons and a gymnastics team to join....(or a corner to hang out on....)

Mojo Missing...Story at 11

Well, I had it, then it was gone. I basted up some pants after tissue-fitting my Palmer/Pletsch pattern using the Craftsy class, and I still had some wrinkles, so I lost interest. I had an extra pattern, so I decided to start over from scratch, but couldn't face it just yet, so I threw the pants under the machine and took up the side seams a huge amount, which ended up making a decent pair of pants. If I can get back up there and throw a waistband on them, they'll actually be wearable - invisible zipper's already installed in the back! I just hate fiddling with patterns and rulers and measuring - bleh.

In the interim, I finished the neckband on the AC dress I started in the summer with Robbie - remember all that airbrushing? Well here's how THAT ended up...oh, it's precious!


The back is a little awkward despite my swayback adjustment....


And I THOUGHT I was standing up straight with the gut sucked in, but I look amazingly frumpy! I honestly just think I'm not meant to wear certain styles of dresses....or it needs a belt....or the length is wrong...I have no idea why it doesn't look good. It's only one layer of fabric, so that could be it - my Mardi Gras dress was 2 layers and thicker...and full-length....and beaded.


Here's some of the stitching I started on it..


then decided maybe I should take it out and leave it unembellished...whatcha think? So after THAT letdown, I got sidetracked by this Jalie pattern, and decided to make some running pants!

So after watching 2 Project Runways in a row, I made it to Joann's to get this nylon lycra:


The black is the main fabric, polka dots for the back, and purple for the calf. It's in the washer now, but my serger is at the shop, so I don't know how far I'll get. Hopefully at least cutting it out!

And here's something funny. The other morning I kept hearing something hit the window, so I thought the crazy cardinal was back that used to divebomb us all the time. I checked 3 times and never saw anything till the 4th time - imagine my surprise!


And he had a buddy in the bush, who was apparently daring him to steal our Honey Bunches of Oats.


OHHH - and I did wear my AC couched skirt to a big cancer benefit downtown (everybody was wearing wild stuff, so no comments were made), where the Prancing Elites were performing! Have you heard of them? We only got to see a little dancing, which was quite professional, and everybody had to sign waivers because they're filming a reality show for Oxygen - cool!

Alright, the washer's done, so let's see if I can do some sewing tonight...

A Nice Feeling

A very nice feeling to have is when your son wants to wear his homemade shorts for the big performance on the last day of school. Another nice feeling is wearing your own homemade pants, even though they didn't turn out too well, but by golly you will wear those suckers if it kills you!

Some Real Slick Britches!

Hmm, what's this? Just the first attempt of mine to do something really different to a pattern. I haven't ever tried French seams or flat-felled seams (I still can't remember the difference) or anything that the pattern doesn't tell me to do, although I did line that glittery shirt and was mighty proud of it. But my first pair of Jalie 2909's showed bumps and bulges at the hip in addition to fierce panty-lines, so I decided to try and line this second pair with a Betzina method. (If that woman said she liked cat turds I'd probably try 'em.) Now of course she recommends this little half-lining for the front so if you sit all day you can stand up without wrinkles, but who the hell cares about wrinkles when your pants are hanging up on your cotton panties (knickers for my UK peeps). So I applied it to the rear....a half-ass attempt if you will.

Well, maybe that's the whole problem I'm having with the wrinkles on the back legs and the pucker at the waistband that I ended up with last night, but I gotta tell ya' - these things slide off and on like buttah! There will be NO panty lines. That's right - nothing to distract you from the hip indentations that I still didn't get rid of...or the leg wrinkles. And I hate that I'm burning out on these because I did spend one whole afternoon working out that lining...about a month ago. (And you can see a month's worth of basting lines on the legs - I tried about 4 different stitching lines to get rid of the wrinkles.)

Anyway, I WILL finish these pants. As God is my witness, they're NOT gonna lick me! As God is my witness, I'll never be pantsless again! (Paraphrasing from Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind, of course.)

Fitting Help? Split the Blog?

Well the party was a great success. About 50 neighbors showed up and met each other, drank gallons of wine, raved about Dean's gumbo, and promised to do it again soon. A wonderful time was had by all. And today I worked on the 2nd pair of pants. But before I get into that, I wonder if I should do 2 blogs like some other people do - one for sewing stuff and the other for my smart-ass observations on life in general. I don't want to bore the non-sewers, and I don't want to offend the sewers. Please comment if you have an opinion. That means you, Scott [my brother] - I don't want you to have to read about crotch seams.

Now the first pair of pants was almost perfect and didn't need any serious alterations. This pair is a more stretchy polyester-ish fabric and I have some questions. This is just basted and not waistbanded or hemmed, obviously.




Why do I have indentations right where my underwear hit my leg? I know I myself have a valley between the high hip and saddlebag (lovely), so does this necessitate Spanx? I even tried Betzina's tip about interfacing the side seams to smooth out bumps, but it didn't help. I have this on the other pants, but I choose to ignore it. (ba-bye non-sewers, didn't mean to gross you out - hope to see you back soon!)

I also seem to have too much fabric on the back legs - should I take larger seams to fix that, or is that crotch seam issue? It's hard to figure this out without a dressform to put them on.

And the Betzina retreat starts Wednesday - I'm so nervous! I'm making jeans of all things - now do you go in a dressing room to try them on for fitting issues? Does this mean she may see my stretch marks and underwear? (Does this mean I can't sew in my underwear in between fittings like I do at home? You know you do it too!)

I'm Petering Out Now...

Well, got the pants hemmed, labelled, and ironed. What next? I was going to go back to Hancock and get more pants fabric, but I have 2 slinky silky stash things that I want to make shirts out of, and that sounds more fun right now.

In other news...we've got Ron White tickets - WOOHOO! (He was part of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour with Jeff Foxworthy, for those not familiar.) I think he's hilarious in a very warped way, but the freaky thing is that he could be the brother of my Dad's best friend Ron from Sylacauga. (Hey Babe...that was for you Tracey.) My favorite bit was some story about being in a crash in Mexico and having to get a steel plate in his head, and the doctor told him he was lucky to be alive, but to be careful.....this plate is hot.

Anyway, off to Blockbuster to get 2012 with Nicholas Cage - I didn't get to watch much TV last night since I was knee-deep in pants, but nobody's coming home till tomorrow and I'd like a little entertainment. (Oh, aren't the Oscar's on?)

Second Day of Sewing Retreat

Wow, the sewing retreat ran long last night! I got the waistband done and tried out my Brother PC-420's buttonholer for the first time last night (at 11 PM while watching Saturday Night Live). Things have changed since the last time I made a buttonhole. I can't remember how I used to do it, seems like you measured the button and did a calculation, or maybe there was just a standard buttonhole size. Well NOW you slide the button into the foot and it automatically measures it. When I attach the foot, I pull a little lever down from the underside of the machine and hook it to the foot, and it tells the foot when to change directions. I feel like an 80-yr-old learning to use a computer for the first time. (I feel 80 mostly because the crick is back in my neck.) And then it'll sew on the button for you - how awesome is that?

So it was almost 1 AM when I went to bed. And Jakey is having a rough time, I guess because everybody left and he thinks I'll disappear next. He stays within 10 feet of me at all times and won't even go out in the yard unless I walk out there with him. If I stay on the porch, he stays on the porch. Such an insecure doggy...he also finds the sewing retreat very boring.

Just Taking a Fitting Break...

Holy S***! Look at these pants! This IS the most fabulous pattern ever known to woman! The pictures suck because Drew has my camera in DC, so I can't adjust lighting or anything, and don't you love the "Lynn to infinity" effect in the mirror. But I'm so happy - what a well-spent afternoon! Now of course they're only basted and not hemmed or waistbanded, so I've got to get crackin' again. I just wanted to share the joy that's deep in my heart...and on my bum...sorry.