Choir Wardrobe 03.12.17

The blingy gold and black zig-zag scuba knit (see previous post) is still laid out on the cutting table; I was suddenly seized by an attack of indecision on which pattern to use.  I had in mind a peplum style, but then thought about those zig-zags and remembered a dress in which the changing grain on zig-zags just looked kind of...drunken.  Not the look I was going after.   I really just need to pull out something and go for it; I don't have enough time to be wishy-washy about it.

But in my wishy-washy trying to make up my mind, I am working on the white blouse, so at least something's getting done.  Slowly.

Meanwhile, I still had to come up with something black and metallic gold to wear today.  I do have a RTW Tee, purchased from jaydotcrew, hanging in the closet, mostly to remind me why I sew.  It was about $30,  it's cut off grain, the neckline's indecent and it's too short.  But it's shiny gold. So it gets worn...carefully.

In this case, I've got a black rayon/lycra jersey Jalie 965 Tank as a bottom layer, helping with the too-short-hem and the too-low-and-wide neck.  Good enough.  Black poly/rayon/lycra ponte knit Loes Hinse Oxfords, and a cashmere blend cardi from Lands' End and I'm all good with the black-and-gold for today. 

Hm.  Black and Gold.  Boiler Up.  LOL. 

Now to ponder some more on the gold zig-zag print. 

The Power of Positive Thinking

We had a big conference at church last week and the stage had not been reset for the choir, so there's  no choir wardrobe this week.  So I will share with you my ridiculousness.

 I still have not sewn more than a couple of seams in all of 2017...and I ordered more fabric.  Is that optimism, or what?

Because the choir colors for the next two months are pretty much conspicuously absent from my wardrobe.  So I ordered a bit...

We have metallic gold and black for March, and mauve/gray/black for April.  The sheerish knit on the left has metallic stripes in it and I intend to turn it into a little cardi that caught my fancy in an old Burda magazine.  The chevron gold stripe is printed on a scuba knit; I'm pretty sure I'm going to make that ubiquitous  McCall's jacket that I've made up a few times, because what else would you do with something so over the top as that?  The Dusty Purple on the end might work for the mauve...I haven't seen a sample yet to know if we're talking dark mauve or light mauve.  But it's a pretty bamboo that will make a nice top, even if I can't wear it next month.  And the black and white stripe because...well...it's classic.

The upside is that these will all be very quick things to sew up.  Once I manage to actually get to my sewing machine.

No more  fabric in until I've sewn up the 20 yards I bought (or an equivalent in already-stashed-goods, lol).  And I mean it.  Even if that means I wear the same outfit four Sundays in a row...

Choir Wardrobe 02.26.17

Y'all.  I have seriously got to make myself do some sewing, even if it's just in 15 minute chunks.  I have a nice white blouse about 1/4 completed and it would have been SO NICE to wear today.  But, instead, I wore a cheap white blouse that doesn't fit terribly well that I got at an outlet just so I could have a white shirt that wouldn't grieve me if it got a small stain or two on it to wear for our annual Thank-You banquet, in which the church staff becomes wait staff for children's social service workers in our area and must wear black pants and a white shirt.  But, well, it doesn't have gravy or coffee stains on it yet, so, might as well get some good out of it, right?

The oft-repeated black and white stripe RPL modified Loes Hinse Oxford Pants, my even MORE oft-repeated black twill Burda 05/09 waistcoat, and a hemmed rayon/silk chiffon burnout scarf.  First time to put these together in combo; I think I like it.  Will like it better with the blouse-in-progress instead of the cheap blouse with the floppy faux-french-cuffs....

The scarf is pretty and I don't wear it enough.  I bought two or three pieces of the burnout silk on sale a few years back; 2 yards at 45" wide.  Cut off the selvedges, squared the ends and then split it in half lengthwise.  Rolled all edges.  Kept one, gave one away....of this fabric, anyway.  The others were Christmas stocking stuffers.

Next month we're wearing black and metallic gold.  I actually have half a calfskin that is gold foil finished, obtained a couple of years ago specifically to make fronts for a vest.  Thought I'd use that Burda waistcoat, but then I got afeared the collar would be too bulky in leather.  Not sure it would be as appealing without the collar, so trying to pick another style.  Not placing any bets on whether or not it gets done by the last Sunday in March....and I might have a couple of pieces of gold-metallicy-knit coming in the mail this week.  I *might* actually get something made from the TNT knit patterns.  Which would be great; currently I only have ONE metallic-y garment and March has 5 Sundays...

A perfect surprise...

So, yeah, there was no choir post last weekend.

Instead, there was a conspiracy.

My Dear Daddy had a significant 'ends-in-a zero' birthday, so my sister, who moved from Northern Indiana to upstate New York just before Christmas, flew in.  All four of my kids  rode with me (My Sweet Babboo had a statewide campout that weekend that he was somewhat responsible for, and Prince Charming was returning from a business trip too late to hitch a ride with us) and we drove up.  We got to the home place about half an hour after the New York contingent.

Dad, of course, had no idea we were coming.  My two brothers had just told him they were taking him to dinner, and his sisters and their hubbies joined us.  We all had dinner at an eatery in Thorntown, IN, that has some of the best onion rings you'll find anywhere.

Dad's not a birthday cake enthusiast; in fact, on a Facebook meme a few months ago I answered the question 'It's your dad's birthday!  What kind of cake will you make  him?' with 'Pecan pie!' I baked 3 pies and took them up, only to find that my mother had also baked some fruit cobblers, because, you know, Dad wanted pie for his birthday and she kinda had to make some because she couldn't tell him I was bringing pie...we ate pie all weekend...

The  next day, my niece, her hubby and 15 month-old, the only great-grandchild, flew in from Pennsylvania.  And, of course, Dad didn't expect that, either, although enough of us slipped up that if he'd  been paying strict attention he'd have known.  But that didn't really matter.  The baby was the icing on the cake. I don't think Dad stopped grinning all weekend.

And me...well, it's always something of a respite to walk around on the farm just a bit.  I breathe a bit deeper there...

Choir Wardrobe 02.12.17

Happy Valentines' Day!

I am having trouble getting to the 'post' button lately (hence the delayed choir post); even more trouble getting into the sewing room.  Still no progress on the white shirt, so February's black-and-white wardrobe is still pulling from old stuff.

A black slinky Sewing Workshop Cityscapes dress (which is out of print but, I believe, re-released as a downloadable PDF) and Sandra Betzina's  Vogue 8043 jacket.  Mixing the 'little French jacket' with an Edwardian hobble skirt was kinda fun; I don't think I've put those two together before. In any case, it's a  notch or two up from my typical choir wardrobe.

But, in other news, the lack of sewing/blogging is directly due to other stuff going on; just finished class number eight of the online master's of ministry program I'm doing through West Coast Bible College and Seminary;  plowing straight on to class number nine (out of twelve).  My goal was to finish by the end of April but class eight was a toughie and took longer than I'd planned.  So now it's going to be a bit of a push.

It's messing with my sewing time but the goal is in sight... ;-)

Looking for a blog reader...

Unfortunately, I've run into a difference of opinion with bloglovin and I have closed my account there.  You can still follow my blog(s) there if you do already; but I want to find a new place to read.

I tried just using the follow function on Blogger, but I had to cut and paste each URL and that got old FAST.

So I made a quick account on Feedly and migrated over there as best I could.

It was still rather a pain as I could not find any way to just export the whole lot from bloglovin'.  So I did it one at a time, and was rather surprised to see how many blogs I'd subscribed to that hadn't been updated in a year...or two..or three....  But at least I could type the name into a search box and, generally, it found it without having to type in the whole http line.

But it has some limitations.

Feedly only allows 100 feeds on their free account, so I moved the active ones over there; was still a few over a hundred so I had to drop all of them that I can read via the author sharing their posts on Facebook; that put me under the limit.  I had to combine some of my categories, as they only allow three on the free account.  Nowhere could I find the button that says 'follow my blog on...'

So...anybody have a feed burner that they love?  Cause I'm not sure I'm going to be happy over on feedly, but I wanted to get off of bloglovin' NOW.

I am not one to hop up and down and insist folks agree with me on things, but there are lines I will not cross and BL crossed that line. 

So.  Back to the hunt for a (free) easy to use little feed burner...

Choir Wardrobe 02.05.17

The usual wardrobe colors for February are black and white and this year is no exception.

And, as I have not managed to get ANY thing into the 'finished' column yet this year, the garb of the day is, well, old.    And my photographer didn't alert me to the fact that the t shirt could've used just the slightest tug into position.

But, whatcha gonna do?

I actually had this t-shirt show up in my Facebook memories page; I posted it as complete  on Sew Random 5 years ago today.  Oy.  It's from the February 2010 Burda mag...can't remember if it was still BWOF then or if they'd made the switch to Burdastyle.

Which just goes to show that a C+ garment is still gonna get some wear.

Once more, that Burda Vest from 2009, which is even older.

And baggy black Lee jeans.

All in all, adequate, but just.

I have a white shirt in pieces on the ironing board; mayhap I can finish it in the next 3 weeks and at least have ONE new thing to show for the year so far?


In other news, I ordered a couple of patterns from PR; with Hancock's gone my access to patterns has dropped somewhat.  There is a Jo Ann's on the other side of town, but I don't get over that way very often and they've dropped me from the mailing list, so I don't know when the sales are any more.

So my pattern acquisition has slowed considerably.

As in, the last time I bought patterns, it was from a clearance bin at Sir's Fabric on July 11 of last year.

But there were two recent Vogue releases that I just Had. To. Have.

Even if they are only for the collection and not for sewing...lol.

I will make the Betzina vest.  I will I will I will.   I will probably make Paco's blouse...I'd LOVE to make the coat but not sure I'm brave enough.  Maybe.

A little delayed...

So tomorrow's the last day of January.

Guess I need to clear the annual stats, especially as I have had some fabric arrive today so I need to get the 2017 Counts going.

Last year's statistics:

Fabric In: 82.875 yds
Fabric Out: 71.375yds
Last fabric added:12/28/16
Garments made for me: 31
Home Dec Items: 2
Misc. Church Sewing: 7 accent pillows covered

So close to parity...that's the best I've done in a long, long time, and if I hadn't bought fabric for costumes that didn't happen, I'd've been there.

But the costumes will happen, if not this year then certainly next year, so I'm not going to sweat it too much.

And I didn't carry any 2016 projects over into 2017.  One of the 2015 projects is currently going through the machines...slowly...so maybe I'll actually get some work done on the UFO pile.

But, since I haven't posted a picture of Fabric In in forEVER...new fabric...

Going from right to left....
black Telio rayon/nylon/lycra ponte, teal green organic cotton jersey, navy blue Telio rayon/nylon/lycra ponte, gray bamboo/lycra jersey and, although I usually NEVER buy polyester knits, an ITY jersey that I think I got just because I could not resist the colors.  I'll blame it on short gloomy January days.

I will say that that ponte knit is amazing.  I ordered 4 yards of the black and got 4  1/4;  I may venture to make a Little Black Dress as well as a pair of Helix pants and I'll still have a chunk left.

But...no more purchases until this has been sewn.  Or at least mostly sewn; I may put the remnant of black away for another day.

But at the rate I'm sewing, that means I may not get to buy anything else until the summer sales hit in July.

Choir Wardrobe 01.29/17

January colors:  black, gray and royal blue.  Black Jalie 2682, from the 2016 SWAP, black wool gabardine Loes Hinse Oxford Pants and a wool flannel Silhouette Patterns Robin's Jacket.  February will be black and white..and maybe a splash of red sometime around the 14th...

I really have been struggling to get into the sewing room.  I've got a white shirt that's been cut out for over a year, that I really need, and I'm working on it in about 20 minute increments...when I get a chance at all.

And, with  no sales or nothin', I ordered some more of that fabulous Telio doubleknit that I used to make the mustard yellow Helix pants last fall.  In  more wardrobe-friendly colors of black and navy.

I may or may not have ordered a little more fabric to make the journey with them.  Tracking says it will arrive tomorrow.

It may figure into the SWAP...if I can manage to do a SWAP, lol.

We'll see if I can do better at 'sew everything I buy' this year than I did last year...

Choir Wardrobe 1.22.17

Tryin' to stay current for a change...  January choir wardrobe colors are black, gray and royal blue.  A RTW blue sweater shell and pants and jacket (modified Loes Hinse Oxfords and Pamelas' Patterns Draped Front Cool Cardigan)  from the 2016 SWAP collection were quite suitable for a rainy Sunday. (most of the rain splatters had evaporated from the lower legs by the time we took the picture...)

This is the prime reason for doing the  SWAP last year...to have clothes to wear with the various choir wardrobe colors.  If I can manage it, one more SWAP of such basics and I should be good to go for a while!

If I can manage it...lol...

Lawd have mercy, it's been a month....

This may be the longest I've ever gone without a post.

Holidays, a social media fast and a conference...just plain busyness...and, consequently, no sewing.

I need to do my '2016 round up', but, in all honesty, I have  a few days at least before I have to update 2017 stats so I'm not going to stress about it now.

We didn't have choir on the 1st (being a holiday) or the 15th (being the final Sunday of our leadership conference weekend and the platform was not reset), so I only have one 'Choir Wardrobe' photo for the year so far...which we took on the appropriate day but, being on the social media fast I didn't post it.  Just for i dotting and t crossing, here it is...about a week and a half after the fact...

January choir colors are my favorite royal blue, black and gray; wearing one of my favorite tops; Sewing Workshop's Chopin Blouse done up in striped silk duppioni from Textile Fabrics in Nashville and made, oh, eight years ago.  I finally lost a little bit of weight so I can wear it again; I *think* I'm wearing the Helix pants with it, but, well, it's been a week and a half and I'm not sure now.  But it looks like the Helix.

I did make one final fabric purchase at the end of the year; I caught Ann's moving sale and got a piece of yummy sweater knit for a duster coat.  And promptly went into the paralysis of analysis, trying to determine exactly what pattern would be PERFECT for said yummy fabric. 

It may just be a matter of picking the best of what I have...which is probably going to be a Kwik Sew sweater coat I've made a couple of times, modified slightly.  Stay tuned.

I'm still debating the SWAP this year.  I'm not sure my wardrobe needs fit quite into the specifics for this year, although I do need clothes.  It's that eight-pattern limit that 's killing me; I want about 3 jackets but they'd all be different patterns.  Plus at least two different pant styles and maybe a skirt.  That would only leave two patterns for tops.  More ruminating is due there, I think.

I have a couple of UFO blouses, cut out several months...maybe even over a year...ago that havejust been sitting in the bin.  Plus my sewing nook is so overdue for a cleanout it's not even funny...kinda scary...and it's putting a crimp in the sewing enthusiasm.

Anyway...Happy New Year! LOL.  I hope to get back in the groove before long. 

Choir...um, Not Choir...Wardrobe 12.18.16

Friday morning, I got a text message, wanting to know if My Sweet Babboo and I would be willing to join another couple in donning Dickens costumes and singing Christmas Carols before each service today.

Are Christmas Cookies yummy?

You can't see it, but we have a horse and sleigh just to our left; it was a kinda serendipitous acquisition and was used for photo ops all morning.

We barely had time to pull the costumes...they have been moved since we last used them...and practice a half dozen or so carols in a key such that we could all sing melody.  Just not enough time for us contemporary worship folks to learn traditional four part harmony.

(photo credit Diane O.)

Of course, that meant we had to miss participating in the choir; we sang for latecomers through the first song of the worship set.

The Flute Player joined us; she's in the middle, in a skirt I made for her when she was in the 8th grade for a school production of A Christmas Carol.  We were both surprised that it wasn't too short for her; she must've worn some heels on her boots in 8th grade!  My gray cape is 30 years old...I bought it when I was in my last trimester with our firstborn.  It's been worn several times now as a pseudo-dickens cloak.

The funny thing is that I actually bought fabric to make Dickens costumes for myself and My Sweet Babboo, back in, like, June, thinking we were going to do a production this year.  HOWever, we were presented instead with the opportunity to purchase a retired high school to renovate into a facility that will alleviate our uber-crowdedness so any possibility of doing a major production this year totally evaporated and I didn't bother to make the costumes.

Friday afternoon, I was *really* wishing I'd just gone ahead and sewn them up.  But we managed to find enough costumes in church storage to outfit our crew.

The high school has a 750-seat professional-grade theater, with 12 drops in the flies, which was new in, like, 2002.  It's not even going to need much more than a spruce up with paint and it's ready for action.  I'm thinking I need to get on those costumes soon after the new year...because this is definitely the shadow of Christmas Yet To Come...

Choir Wardrobe 12.11.16

Choir wardrobe colors for December are black and kind of a foresty-green. 

It was a kinda last minute change; when word came I went to my closet and found exactly two items that would do;  the black-and-green scarf that I wore last week and this Neue Mode jacket made from upholstery fabric something like 9 years ago.  The scarf was dead on the right color; the jacket leans a little to gold but has some variance in it that makes it blend, so it works.

It's teamed up with a rayon/lycra turtleneck that I can't even remember the pattern from which it was made; I'm not sure it wasn't a frankenpattern of some sort.  It's old and,  I keep forgetting, has enough lycra in it that it's shiny when stretched and photographed w/ a flash.  I confess to doing a little judicious photo editing to eliminate some of the shine. ;-).

The pants are my often-worn RPL modified Loes Hinse Oxfords.

On another note, we have a fresh tree this year. Or semi-fresh; we got it from a pre-cut lot as the only ones we can find in the local tree farms are scotch pines, which really don't have much scent.  The fragrance is the only reason to put up with the mess of an actual wooden tree; so we got a fir of some sort.  My Sweet Babboo and the Flute Player picked it out; I was dealing with the recurring vertigo and sent them off to do it.  They got a nice one, but they did not find out exactly what type of  tree it is.  It smells lovely, though; I can smell it from the top of the stairs.

I pulled out the antique GE Lighted Ice bulbs and the bubble lights.  And the ornament spinners.  So it is a somewhat retro kinetic tree.

It's beginning to feel like Christmas...

Choir Wardrobe 12/4/16

We had a last minute change in wardrobe colors for December;  we went from black and red to black and a sort of foresty-green.  No time to hit the sewing machine (and I don't think I even have any green that color in the stash) and shopping is just not gonna happen, so I'm limited to what's already in the wardrobe.

So I'm basically wearing black...black 'denim' Helix pants, a black Jalie 2566 t and a black ponte McCall's 6844 (the pants and Jacket are from this years SWAP wardrobe)...with a black-and-green poly/acrylic scarf that I *think* I got at Hancock's about 5 years ago. 

I'll be honest...I have no idea what's up with the photography and the Helix pants.  I put them on, look in my mirror and think, 'Oh, those look great!'...then I look at the photos and think 'Gah! What is going on with all that baggy stuff????'

Maybe it's just  my posture for photos...who knows...

I'm late with the post; a bit of sheepish explanation.  I've got a bunch of fluid in my ears and it appears to be causing some pretty extreme ver ti go (don't want to trip a search...).  I'll be going fine when I get up in the morning and then a couple of hours later...bam! I'm knocked flat for a bit.  I've had trouble working whole days...it's been kind of a pain in the patootie.  I've been on an antibiotic, which seemed to make me feel even worse,  done the little position maneuvers that are supposed to help, with no real benefit...my GP is going to refer me to an ENT.  Hopefully that will happen sooner rather than later.

I had a rough four or so hours this afternoon, but it seems to have subsided a bit for now.  So I've kinda got a 'let's see how much I can get done while my head is on right' challenge at the moment.

Check 'write Sunday's blog post' off that list...;-)

Choir Wardrobe 11 27 16

Oy.  The Helix pants look even baggier in today's photo than they did in last week's...honest, it's not that bad in the mirror.  Maybe they needed a hitch up or something...

But, since today was the last day for mustard/garnet/black, I figured I'd go ahead and wear the mustard pants.  After all, I may not wear them again until mustard shows up on the the wardrobe list...lol.


But I opted to just go with black...every time I see the yellow and red together it makes me think of a circus.  So I pulled out a black rayon/lycra jersey Jalie 2566 t shirt and the black doubleknit McCall's 6844 cardi (still no review...) from this year's SWAP.

And a Talbot's scarf with a heart print that served for the 'garnet red'.  Sort of.

On a different thought...
Fall was late this year...it was hot and dry and most of the trees seemed to turn brown early.  But the trees in the yards around us...probably as a virtue of being watered a bit...did finally turn fallish and were probably peak color last week.  I was struck by how the color of the leaves looked so vibrant against the brilliant blue sky and just had to snap some photos after a walk yesterday morning...and I thought I'd just share a couple of the images with folks who might appreciate it.

SO hard to believe Thanksgiving is behind us and we're heading into the Advent season!  I hope all of my US friends had a wonderful commemoration of the feast of Thanksgiving!  I've got at least a couple more turkey meals on the menu next week...:-)

Choir Wardrobe 11 20 16

November's colors are black, garnet red and spicy mustard.

Spicy mustard being a color that should really never, ever be anywhere near my face, I tried to find a pair of mustard denim jeans a few weeks ago, but, alas, no luck.  However, I did find some very, very nice Telio doublknit (the kind with nylon instead of polyester in the mix) in a passable mustard color and  made up the Sewing Workshop Helix pants, slightly modified to include pockets (borrowed from Loes Hinse's Oxford pants...).  They really and truly do not look nearly as baggy in the mirror as they look in the photo; not sure why, unless it's because the tail on the  Vogue 8305 cardigan is obscuring the leg line.  The RTW sweater looks much more puple/pinky on my monitor; it's really a very nice cranberry..., er, garnet red.

I really liked sewing with the nylon/rayon/lycra doubleknit.  I may have to order more in something that doesn't look so, um, Ronald-McDonald-ish.

But I will have something, at least, to wear when mustard yellow/dark gold pops up in the choir color list.  The pants feel so nice, I may actually wear them a bit more.

Maybe.

Choir Wardrobe 11 13 16

November choir colors are garnet red, spicy mustard and black.    Just couldn't bring myself to wear the yellow overtop again this week, so it's red and black for me....pinstripe Loes Hinse Oxford pants, morphed into boot cuts,  the aging Vogue 8305 Cardi-Wrap, and what may be the swan song of  my red silk charmeuse Simplicity 2750 shell top, as  I happened to look down about  halfway through the morning and realize that the center front has shredded at the neckline seam.  Fortunately, it was not terribly obvious from any distance, but it made me sad.  I'm not sure it's salvageable; gonna have to have a close look at it later.

But I will have plenty of opportunity to mend it...if it can be mended.  I went on a cutting spree this weekend and cut out  a skirt, a cardigan, a shell top and a pair of pants, and all of it but the pants is garnet red (the shell top is actually the rest of that same piece of silk).  So I will have the right thread loaded up...

That's the last cutting I'll do for a while; I need to clean up the spare room/cutting station as it needs to be converted from Sewing to Gift Wrapping for the next few weeks. I'm about half done w/my Christmas shopping...and the Princess's birthday (she's gonna be 31...unbelievable...) is in the mix...so I need to close down the cutting room for a while.  I've plenty of stuff cut out to keep me busy...should I actually find time to sew.  Maybe I can 20-minutes-a-day myself into something finished by next weekend... ;-)

In other news, the week is up on the Blogiversary Giveaway.  I actually only had TWO ladies who did not tell me they already had that specific pattern (or enough patterns) so the drawing was simple...I wrote the entries on a couple of pieces of paper, folded them identically, threw them in a small box and shook it well, then about half an hour later came back and dumped one little folded note out.  Mary Deeter, you have won the pattern!  I know I had your address earlier, but I apparently deleted all those emails (again! LOL), so if you'll send me your address (tig77LW at yahoodotcom) I'll get that out in the mail for you.  Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to leave an encouraging note!  I know I'm not as active round here as I used to be...or as active as I'd like to be...so it makes me feel all warm fuzzy to know that there are still folks following along.

There's been an incredible amount of tension and emotion running through the online communities of late; I'd just like to take a minute and say that I fully recognize I have many ladies who stop by here who would disagree with me on many topics.  I try hard to be who I am without offering offense to those of you who would not agree.  But in these stressful days...I just want you all to know that I appreciate each of you.  You are all gifted in your own way, and you are important.  Thank you for letting me share my wacky wardrobe with you all!  Hugs for everyone... ;-)

Choir Wardrobe 11 06 16

November choir wardrobe colors are garnet red, spicy mustard and black.

I literally put this on as kind of a ketchup-and-mustard joke.  Or a Ringling Brothers reference...red shoes and all.

But...to my utter astonishment, this got more compliments than anything I've worn for a long time... Maybe it was just an 'Omigosh what IS THAT' reaction.

The bottom layer is the red SHE dress I bought at the women's conference this year ; there was one other lady in the choir who wore one so it was probably good that I camouflaged mine somewhat.  Over it is the not-quite-brown-enough-for-spicy-mustard icky knit Vogue 9057 tankie top that I am not overly fond of and my much-worn Burda Style vest that I don't even need to link anymore because you see it almost every week.

On the bottom, modified La Fred Daphne pants in a stretch cotton twill.  And yes, it was a pain to have to hike up the dress/tunic to get into the pockets, but whacha gonna do?

It was goofy and whimsical and kinda hokey, but it was what I had at the moment. November is typically burgundy, and there were some folks in something very close to burgundy, but all my burgundy is too dark/purple-y to work for garnet red.

I do have a piece of rather stout doubleknit that I overdyed some time ago from an orangey-red to something near cranberry that I think can pass for garnet red but it is, of course, laid out on the cutting table whilst I try and figure out the best plan for it.  And I've ordered some doubleknit from fabric dot com in a brownish mustard color for a pair of Helix pants...so I can put the yellow as far away from my face as possible.

In other news, the 2017 Stitcher's Guild SWAP Rules have now been posted.  Lots and lots of flexibility this year...so long as you don't use more than 8 distinct patterns.  The Last Minute SWAP wardrobe I did this spring was one pattern over the limit, but otherwise it would have met the requirements.  I really would like to participate this year; we'll see how the schedule looks once we get past the Really Big Conference in January and I have some breathing room.

And, while everyone has probably already seen the post in which I offered up what I thought would be a desirable Adri pattern for a giveaway, just in case you haven't and you are one of the apparently few folks who didn't stash that pattern already,  leave a comment for me there and I'll put your name in the hat!

Eleven Years...and counting...

It was eleven years ago today that I logged on to share the journey of costuming 'The Gospel According to Scrooge'...and just kept going.

The sewing and blogging time have dramatically dropped in the time since then, but I love that I can still share sewing challenges and successes and the occasional Big Project.

I thought, 'Eleven years deserves a little celebration'...so I went to my pattern cabinet and pulled out a pattern to share.

It had to be one that was at least a little desirable, and, while this may be going into the wrong season, I think I found one.

Copyright 2007, here's a Vogue Adri wardrobe that ranges from size 6 to 14:

I have an Adri wardrobe pattern that's very similar to this; I really don't need two...at least, not at my current production level.  If someone is looking for a SWAP wardrobe pattern...to finish next spring and wear all summer...this might be a good choice.

So if you're interested in winning...and I'll send it anywhere...just leave a comment and let me know!  And if you've never commented before, say hi and let us know where you're from and how long you've been reading!  I'll draw a winner next weekend (Nov. 12)

Thanks for hanging with me for eleven years!  It's been fun!

Choir Wardrobe 10/23/16

Wow!  An actual Choir post on Sunday...lol

I decided to wear the two Vogue 9057 tops together...in the only way that really works for this set.  The tank top has to be on the bottom, because for whatever reason the neckline is higher on it.

Which is kind ok, as that shade of yellow (colors for November are burnt orange, spicy mustard, and/or warm taupe with brown) is not particularly flattering on me, so covering up most of it probably is a good idea anyway.

I love wearing that brown top; the knit (which had been in the stash for something like 5 years, waiting on a great pattern) is sooo yummy.  I have recently purchased some Telio knits from Fabric.com that are similar in weight and drape, although they strike me as being a bit more shiny (that elasticity shine...know what I mean?)  I used this one for a tank/cardi twinset and loved it so much I bought more and it's just been sitting around.  I finally decided it's time to sew it up...and I needed brown...and I had that great Tilton Vogue pattern...so...the yellow fabric was horrid, but the brown is nice and I'll wear this until that asymmetric top screams 'old lady'.  Which I will be by then, so it will still be good.
The scarf is a remnant of a burnout poly that I picked up at Hancock's, may they RIP.  I really don't like wearing poly scarves, because they feel hot and smell funky, but the colors on this are so perfect that I deal with it in October.

I put the two tops together, like, Friday and looked at them hard.  Wished I had brown jeggings to wear with them.

Wouldn't ya know, I had to make a Wal-mart run yesterday, which I do about once every six weeks, and walking through the store on my way to the dairy section from health and beauty, I walked right by a rack with $13 jeggings.  And the brown was right in front in my size.

Now I've officially moved into the 21st century, fashion-wise.  They have back hip pockets, so I've got someplace to stash phone/keys/leadership badge/kleenex, and belt loops so I could run a belt through to clip my pedometer onto.  It's hysterical...I get about 12,000 steps over three services, just because we move back and forth a bit (the 'choir sway') during the worship sessions.  So despite the hokey useless front faux pockets, the jeggings are rather practical...so long as I'm wearing a long enough top.  And that's all I'm going to say there.

The brown suede boots once belonged to The Princess.  She apparently decided they didn't suit her wardrobe at some point about a year and a half ago and gave them to The Flute Player.  But Flute Player has size 8ish feet, and these boots are a size 7 W.  She put them in a bag for donating...and I noticed them, saw the size, which happens to be mine, and discovered they fit me fairly well.

Into my closet they went.

Is that a hand me up?

I can't review those tops just yet; I suspect the neckline issue is my fault.  I need to check the patterns against each other to verify my hypothesis...and maybe make another tank to test my theory.

Because layers are good in winter anyway...right? LOL.

How'd it get to be Thursday already?

November colors: burnt orange, spicy mustard, warm taupe and brown.

I managed to finish the two Marci Tilton/Vogue 9057 tops I'd cut out but it didn't work out like I had planned...

I had a goldish (it will sort of work for spicy mustard) rayon/poly blend knit in the stash for the next time we had to wear that shade of yellow, and I had a lovely heathery brown knit that I'd been saving to make a funky tunic top for ever so long, so I thought I'd do that set w/ the 3/4 length sleeve hem-slanted-right top from the brown and the tank-top-hem-slanted-left from the gold and wear them layered.

Only....

The gold fabric really doesn't have a lot of stretch in it.  The brown has a wonderful liquidy drapey stretch and looks great but the gold...clings to the brown and looks too small over it.  And somehow, despite the fact that I faced the neckline instead of using a band, the tank neckline is higher than the brown top, which looks weird.

So I'm either wearing them with the yellow on the bottom...or separately.

Sunday I went with separately.  The Jalie 2566 Cardigan I'm wearing over the gold...er, spicy mustard... top is actually the same knit from which the yet-unworn brown top is made.   The photographer did not alert me to the fact that the cardi was kinda shifted around...I need to train my camera operators just a little better, I think.

Dark wash skinny jeans under it all; some orangey jewelry to throw in a bit of one of the other colors and it worked for Sunday.  Even though I actually should never wear that shade of yellow...lol...

That 'no-stashing' pledge...

I've been trying to write this post since the first of August and couldn't seem to get it done.  So Imma gonna just do it now.

Last July, I made a pledge not to add anything to the fabric stash until my birthday this year (July 11...a year later).  I'd had to clean out the spare bedroom I use for cutting, which had somehow accumulated all the fabric purchases for the previous three years, in addition to fabrics I'd pulled from the bins with the intention of sewing them up and then never getting to it.  It was a mess.

I did not make a fabric purchase...at all...from July 1, 2015 to Jan 29, 2016.  During that time, I sewed up 16.5 yards.  I started letting myself purchase fabric on the condition that I sewed it up immediately...and, excluding of a couple of pieces, totaling 7 yards that I bought to replace basic fabrics that I sewed (gotta keep those basics stocked, you know), I purchased...and sewed... 29.5 yards of fabric between 1/1/16 and 7/1/16.

That's 46 yards of sewing all by itself, not counting the 'from stash' sewing that I did.

And I almost made it.  Those 4th of July sales caught me, and I added 15.625 yards in the first two weeks of July...most of which has still not been sewn.   I kinda fudged by saying my last purchase was 7/1/15, so I made it the required year.  Sort of.

And there have been sales since then.  You can look at the sidebar and see that my fabric in is now exceeding the fabric out for the calendar year by about ten yards....which isn't TOO bad, considering I bought fabric in anticipation of costuming needs that did not develop...at least, not yet.

When I was a teen, I happened to see a friend's mom's fabric stash and was astonished that anyone would purchase fabric and then not sew it.  Now, with the demise of Hancock's, not to mention most independent fabric stores, it's hard not to buy fabric that sings when I spy it...because who knows if it will be there when I want to sew it?

Which is a kinda crazy way to think.

It was a great discipline for me to make myself sew what I bought.  I think...I hope...I broke the tendency to purchase without sewing.

I don't know that I'll get all the new purchases sewn by Christmas; I've upped my work hours a bit and embarked on an online Master's degree, so my sewing time has dropped again.

But, before I tackle the new purchases,  I think I'm going to see if I can clean up some UFO's. Time to get those off the sidebar.

And I'm going to try not to order any more fabric until I have sewn up what I can (not tackling costuming until I need it...) from the recent purchases.  Or at least get back to parity...lol...

Catching Up Again...

October is already off to a slammin' start....an all-day-not-at-home last Sunday, and a trip to the ol' stompin' grounds and back in between means I didn't get much blogging...or sewing...done.

But fall is in the air; sort of, anyway.  We have at least turned off the AC.  So fall colors are the designation for October:  burnt orange, spicy mustard and/or warm taupe, with brown for the neutral.

Am I ever glad we have brown for a neutral!  I was not sure what I was going to wear before that word came down...lol.  But last week, I pulled out the RTW brown jeans (which should have been cuffed), and a RTW guipere lace tank, worn over a rayon/lycra Jalie 965 tank and under a wool jersey Pamela's Patterns Draped front Cool Cardigan.  Today, I wore the same cardi over a stretch lace Jalie 2566 T with brown linen Stretch and Sew 704 Quick and Easy Pants.

I have cut out a couple of items to hopefully wear this month...an asymmetric top/tank top from one of the Vogue Tilton patterns...too lazy to look up the number now.  Brown top w / sleeves and a 'spicy mustard' tank top.

I don't know what's up with my sewing fortunes...after finishing the miserable silk/rayon burnout topper, I drew a knit that is just, well, kinda gummy to sew.  It was hard to cut, and the serger just sort of chews on it.  It's pretty ugly on the inside.  Not sure it's going to turn out wearable, owing to the gommed up bands on the neckline and the armholes.  Trying to salvage them by making them facings instead of bands...we'll see if I can pull it off.  It may end up all puckery.  Grumble grumble.... I need a nice cooperative fabric to sew! lol...

Workwear 34

I'm mentally writing my next blog post...about fabric accumulation (sigh)...and I didn't expect to write one before that.

But I wore something yesterday that actually snagged several compliments, so I thought it might be worth documenting for future reference...lol...

It was late when I made that decision and the quickest way to get a photo was to prop the camera on the kitchen counter.  So the angle is, well, not the best.


It's a couple pf pieces from this year's SWAP collection...the modified Loes Hinse Bootcuts and the Pamela's Patterns Cool Cardigan, with my favorite cowl neck shell, Vogue 8669.  I made the same pattern in a cream knit for the SWAP and originally planned to wear that...but decided I wanted some color and, in a rather uncharacteristic move, pulled a top that I generally only wear when required by the choir wardrobe.  Orange generally is not my friend.  But this one is bright and intense and leans towards red and it worked.

But I have decided I need to hem the pants a little shorter.  I'd forgotten that the pants I'd made years ago from this modification had shrunk in length over time.  I held off, just in case these also shrunk, but they appear to be stable so...one of these days I'm going to take about an inch off the bottom.  If I could wear heels, they'd be fine, but my particular mix of orthopedic issues means that I have to be very, very careful about my footwear.  Sassy heels are not for me, and the pants need to be shorter. 

One of these days...

Catching up

That seems like what I've been doing more than anything this summer...catching up....

I've missed two choir posts; since I really wanted to show the red for the month, I'll post the photos, even if they're late...

The left was 9/18/16; the right was 9/25/16.  Both were days in which I pretty much ran home after 3rd service, gulped down a quick lunch, and left again.  Colors for September were claret red, gray and black.  The tunic...or dress...is the one I picked up from the conference merch booth, just because I  was enamored of it. So was everyone else...it was EVERYWHERE at the conference.  I've got on slim black pants (La Fred Athena...modified...) because I had to have pockets somewhere.  However, it turns out the dress is so long and full that it's REALLY AWKWARD to hike it up to reach into a pocket.  All future pockets must be in the top layer.   I had a whim a week or so before the conference and bought some black leggings w/ a faux leather stripe down the outside.  Boots and the red dress with those will be way hipper than I normally am...lol.  Still trying to decide if I need to shorten the dress just a little.  I'm not sure it wouldn't look a little better a little shorter...

And as for sewing...when we last left our heroine, she was struggling with a project that had lost its joy.  It was a silk/rayon burnout fabric that was just a little too substantial for the scarf I had in mind when I ordered it...and I decided to use it for a Sewing Workshop Plaza Jacket.

That fabric.  Oh, the wretchedness of it.  I wasted a ton trying to get it square, then gave up.  It's woven w/some kind of twill weave that refused to behave.  I ended up throwing away the sleeves I'd cut; I just wanted it DONE.  Wavy, spirally, won't-take-a-crease-but-you-can't-press-out-the wrinkles craziness, this stuff is on my Never Sew Again List.  It's worse than stretch panne velvet.  I finally bullied it into sort of submission, and after meticulously hand basting all the hems in place (which, to be fair, I probably would've done anyway.  But it wouldn't have been as aggravating). I finally got the thing finished off last night whilst the others in the family dutifully watched the debate.

In the end, it doesn't look too bad if I keep moving.  I just wish I had decided to skip the sleeves BEFORE I'd spent all that time and fabric trying to get them cut square.  I could've made the topper another 6" longer and really channeled the Golden Girls.


And it really can be arranged so that it's even.  My photographer was paying more attention to the cat than she was to the task at hand....

But that is finally out of the queue.  Now I can move on to other projects...

Transformation challenge...

Well, maybe a minor one.

This past weekend was our annual women's conference (no choir on Sunday...the stage wasn't reset and we didn't have risers...).  You know how it is at these events....there are goodies available w/ the conference logo or the Women's Ministry logo.  Ours is SHE....which stands for Seeking His Embrace.

I worked the registration area.  I mean, it was kinda my responsibility.  And we were wearing She-wear from past conferences.

Only I was short a t shirt.  I only had two SHE shirts for the three day conference.  So, I figured I needed to get another, so I'm good for next year.

Now, church staff had been allowed to shop the merch for an hour at lunchtime on Thursday, so we would have a chance at purchasing merchandise, since it always sells out.  And they had a tunic (or dress, for the younger set) that I fell in love with.  It was the Choir Red...you'll see it soon...and I got that; but I was saving it for Choir on Sunday.  Besides, EVERYONE was wearing the red dress over the weekend.  Er, everyone on staff was wearing it.  Turned out the other staff and pastors loved it as much as I did and the staff nearly bought it out.

But it was Friday night before I decided I wanted a shirt as well as the dress.  And baby, by Friday night the pickins was slim.  But Saturday morning, I had a brainwave.  And I went in and bought one of the few shirts they had left...in a size 1X.  The lady that worked the counter almost wouldn't give it to me. 'It will swallow you whole!' She protested 'It's huge!'

But I assured her that was what I wanted...'I'm going to cut it down.'

And...here's the t-shirt, before and after:

I had a bit of lace in my lace box that turned out to be JUST ENOUGH to finish off the bottom.  And, as an indication that this was Meant to Be, the lace was not only enough to cover the bottom but it was the right length for both the front and back to be balanced...no oddly off center motifs!  The jury's still out on the lace on the sleeves....I might trim the jersey out from under it, I might leave it as it is, and I might decided it's a little too much (as The Actor stated when he saw it) and take it off.

But I'm very pleased with the results.  Except for the size printing on the back that still says '1X - size 22-24'.  'Cause that ain't true now...lol...

ETA:  I realized that I forgot to post the pattern I used as the basis for the recut...it's Vogue 9057, my TNT relaxed fit T.  For the basics on how to cut down a T shirt using a pattern, click HERE

Choir Wardrobe 9/4/16

We had a great church service today; our Executive Pastor spoke as our Senior Pastor was at the opening of a new building for one of our campuses that has been setting up and tearing down in a school every Sunday for nearly 6 years. They fought a MOUNTAIN of red tape to convert a former car dealership into a church facility, but in the end...they have a permanent place to call home.   They had a celebration, and we had a challenge to keep growing.

Which is very interesting, as that's exactly the theme of the textbook for the current online class I'm taking.

Time for some introspection.


I wanted to start off with that bit of backstory, just to put into perspective my, um, interesting morning, choir wardrobe wise.  Because it really isn't about the clothes.  Even though I feel like I have a smidge of egg on face...it's really not about the clothes.  (click the sidebar link to the post about the choir wardrobe if you've never read it...)

The choir wardrobe for September is the colors for the Women's Conference decor...black, gray and garnet red.  There was much discussion of what, exactly, garnet red would be.

Now, we do have some posters about the building with the red in the graphics, and there's a particular red dress that has been in all the social media promotions.  So my take on it...which was reinforced by the color of the pillows that I sewed for the decor (see previous post)...was that it is a deep, true red.

I have a silk top that is exactly my idea of the color, which I intended to wear today, but it was wrinkled and I ran out of time to iron it.  So I ended up wearing  a red Jalie 2566 cap-sleeved T, the black BWOF 5-2009-108 collared vest and striped Jalie pants that I have never managed to review.

The t-shirt may have been just a hair brighter than my idea of garnet, but it's close.

With the exception of one other lady, who wore a shirt the same color as mine, pretty much the rest of the red in the choir was heavily mixed with brown...last year's Pantone color-of-the-year, merlot; close to burgundy.

I told my brighter-red buddy that we were the sparkle in the glitter today.

SO....the women's conference is next weekend.  We'll see what the main red is in the decor; if it turns out to be the merlot color, I'm going to be living in black and gray for the rest of the month; all my burgundy is winter-weight.   But if it is the true red...well, I've got some of that. LOL.

BTW, the women's conference, She Is Worth, will be live streamed if anyone's interested.  We have 1191 pre-registered, which has blown away all previous records for conference pre-registration.  My job on the church staff means that I'm over the pre-registration and the check-in processes, so it's going to be a very busy week.  The first session is Thursday at 7 PM Central.  Holler if you want particulars and I can set you up with the link to the feed.  It's free...

Weekly check -in

Sunday was basically an all-day-at-church deal...we had our last-Sunday-of-the-month evening service, which was sooo good...and I went in an hour and half ahead of time to work on the women's conference registrations.  We have hit an all time record for pre-registrations for any event and have pretty much maxed out our space. We will open an overflow area should we have a large number of at-the-door registrations.  It's going to be an amazing weekend.

So I basically went home after 3rd service, ate lunch, took a quick choir wardrobe photo and then headed back to church.

And I am just now getting time to post that photo...

Hm.  Thought I cropped it.  Oh, well.

Black RTW jeans with an ancient rayon/lycra jersey cowl-less, sleeveless Loes Hinse Cowl Top that was made from a remnant.  Truth:  I have worn this leftover garment way more than I have worn the garment I made originally.  But that's ok...this is a basic, the other wasn't.  Black ponte knit McCall's Cardi that I can't look the number up on because I haven't reviewed it yet.  Oh, for shame...but you know which one it is...it's the one EVERYONE made last year...

September colors are always based on the women's conference and this year it's gray, black and garnet red.

It's going to be interesting to see how many interpretations we have of 'garnet red'....

The pillows here are garnet red; they're for the decor that will be through the whole building for the conference. I actually did 7; I took the first three to church when I finished them.  These are not high-quality pillow covers by any stretch of the imagination, but they'll work for stage dressing.

The silk burnout Plaza jacket is still exactly where it was a month ago.  I am not having fun with that and it's shutting down my sewing motivation.  I hope to get a chance this weekend to just grit my teeth and finish it; I have *so* much more I want to do but I am NOT going to start another thing until it's done.

But I might clear some UFO's...lol...

I'm still here...

Snapshots today.

First it was jury duty.  I was released on the 2nd day, but I went straight to work.

I had a lot to get done to take a week off.

A week of vacation.  Well, a week of visiting family. 

Which is wonderful and was wonderful but it's not a go-someplace-and-chill-out vacation, if you know what I mean.

Then we came back from a week out of town.  I think...as of last night...I've finally caught up the work that piled up while I was gone.

Now I have to deal with the work that piled up while I tended to the first pile.

I've actually had to bump my part-time hours up at work from 24/wk to 28/wk.

I've finished 4 out of 12 online classes that will eventually net a Master's Degree of sorts.

Can I just say...I've been busy?

I've actually taken choir wardrobe photos for the last 3 weeks but haven't managed to post them.

I've been wrangling pillows through the sewing machine for decor for the women's conference that kicks off two weeks from tomorrow. 

I only had 7 to cover; it's not that involved.

But life has been that crazy.

The silk Plaza jacket ...which I have decided to leave the sleeves off of...is still in progress.

Very beautiful, very frustrating fabric to work with all around.

But I wish I had decided to leave the sleeves off before I used up so much fabric trying to cut them out.

I could've had a kewler, longer vest.

Oh, well.

I have some beautiful fabrics I want  to sew but I am going get the crazy Plaza topper finished off before I cut anything else out.

And I have to finish the pillows before I can do that.

Maybe tonight.

Meanwhile...here's the choir photo from last Sunday, in this month's designated colors of black and white...





 Yeah.  Old stuff w/ a purchased T shirt.  I just have had no luck sourcing white T shirt knit that isn't sheer.







 
I wouldn't have time to make white T's now anyway.


 
Maybe I can get back to the sewing room...after the conference... :-)

Choir wardrobe 07 24 16 - 'You Can't Take Me Anywhere'

After third service today, at least two of the three of us who were traveling together were hungry.

So we opted to stop for lunch at Nothin' but Noodles, a chain that serves up various pastas in various styles.  I had alfredo with chicken and, for some reason, it was a little extra soupy today.

My hand placement on the black poly Loes Hinse Bistro jacket is to cover up, as much as possible, the resulting dribbly drippy spots on my classic (as in, purchased at the brick and mortar store before it was sold and converted to online only)  Coldwater Creek top.  It's a knit tank top with a poly chiffon overlayer on the front; I'm really, really hoping the spots will come out.  It's one of my favorite ' Hot pink month' garments.

The pants, which seem to have missed out on the sauce slopping, are also Loes Hinse designs...the Oxfords modified into something like boot cuts.

The necklace is vintage, having belonged to my grandmother.  You can't tell, but it's sparkly.

I'm still working on the project that was laying on the cutting table last week.  I managed to finish cutting it out last night, which is pretty sad as it should have been quite simple...just a handful of rectangles.  I originally intended to make scarves but it felt just a little too heavy for a scarf, so I decided to make a Plaza Jacket.  But the fabric I used...which is beautiful...was ghastly to cut.  It was a silk/rayon charmeuse burnout that I picked up in a sale earlier this year and I could NOT get an edge perpendicular to the selvage.  I tried tearing it first...it tore crossways for just a bit and then ripped down the length of the fabric; it probably tore 6 - 8 inches before I managed to hit the brakes on the ripping process.  I tried pulling a thread, but it would only pull through the chiffon, burnout bit and broke when it hit the unburnedout charmeuse bits. Plus, it angled severely to the selvedge, which made me look really closely at the fine weave and determine that it was actually twilled.  Oy.   I tried laying it carefully and cutting it with a straightedge and a rotary cutter, and the edge that looked perfectly straight wavered as much as an inch along the cut edge when it was moved.  One of the most uncooperative fabrics I've ever cut.

I wasted a lot of fabric trying to get it square.  I finally laid it out as flat as I could manage and cut it with the ruler/rotary cutter and hoped for the best.   I carefully folded the pieces up and they're waiting for the trip through the machines.  So far, I've been afraid to look and see how off grain it might be....

I've been selected for jury duty starting tomorrow; I'm really hoping everything gets resolved and they'll release the pool on Tuesday...I've got some pretty important meetings on Thursday at work that would be very inconvenient to miss.  In any case, it's likely to cut into my sewing time this week.

Choir Wardrobe 07-17-16

As it usually happens...the photo that shows the garments the best is the one in which I was talking to the photographer...

So, despite the deer-in-the-headlights expression on my face,  this is a 'By George, I think she's got it!' rendition of Vogue 9057, view A, modified slightly into what is now going to be my go-to relaxed fit T.

The fabric is a roll end from EmmaOneSock; I'd meant to make one of the funkier views of that pattern from it but forgot I only had 1 3/8 yards...so view A it was.  I cut the sleeves down (well, traced a cut-down version) a bit more into a cap shape and skinnied the neck band by 1/4".

Bingo.

July colors are black, gray and hot pink...the black/gray print top is teamed up with black Lee jeans and my ubiquitous  waistcoat from the 05/09 issue of Burda World of Fashion (now Burda Style).  The hot pink is once more relegated to accessories.

Just because I wanted to wear the new top.

There's a wild pink fabric on the cutting table...if I can get it cut out and sewn up this week, it'll be on next week's choir post.  But plans are still fluid for this week and I don't know that it will happen...we'll see.

IN other news....today happens to be the day that this sweet thing actually turns 20.

We are officially done parenting teenagers.

I'm not sure how I feel about that...

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday began at church, with three excellent services.  July choir colors are black, gray and hot pink, so I wore my new favorite top, Louise Cutting's My Heart's a-Flutter top made up in hot pink Brussels Washer Linen.,  the Gray knit Pamela's Patterns Drape Front Cardigan  from this year's SWAP collection and gray Lee jeans.


Now, if you're interested... the Birthday Breather...




After 3rd service, we ate a nice lunch, loaded the car and headed out of town for a quick 24 hour celebration.

We drove over the new bridge at Scottsboro for the first time;  it was completed and the old bridge knocked down within the last couple of months.

 Our destination was our favorite getaway,  the Lodge at Gorham's Bluff.  It was a lovely evening to sit on the balcony and listen to the tree frogs.  The thunderstorms didn't come through until later...

 


 The Lodge has great breakfast; kind of a limited menu, but those carrot mini-muffins...oh, my....

We decided to do a little adventuring and wandered through parts of Alabama we had not visited before, cutting over and among the hills from Scottsboro  to Fayetteville, Tennessee, the home of Sirs Fabrics.

No photos from Sirs; I got some buttons at a 50% discount and a couple of discontinued patterns and another piece of the brown tropical wool that I used last year for my steam-punkish  family-crusade costume.  I have a bit more costuming I want to do...kind of on a hunch, actually...and I think with an extra three or so yards added to the remnant I had left from the steampunk suit I'll have enough of it.  It was only $3.99/yd.

But my Sweet Babboo bought several pieces of cotton calico to make frontiersman shirts. How cool is it to be married to a guy who actually likes going to fabric stores...thanks to the frontiersman involvement...  :-D

Headed back to Huntsville, we passed the building that is being renovated for the Fayetteville campus of our church.  It's *scheduled* to open in about 6 weeks; those folks have been setting up in a local school for services and children's ministry and then clearing it out  every week for several years...I know they're going to be glad to get a permanent facility!

We finished the adventure with dinner in a local steakhouse, using a gift card we'd been hanging onto for 3 or 4 years.   We'll have the official 'let's get together and celebrate mom's birthday' dinner later this week, when everyone's in town.

(Yep, I wore the crazy bright Kim's club dress to dinner.  What's a splashy fun dress for if not to wear on a date?)


Back to work tomorrow....