Gone Feral In Idaho

My Cousin Sarah sent me this table runner she made. We are a few fans of Facebook as we weren't raised to be with each other's families much. Thanks to FB, several of us cousins have been reunited. The wonderful amazing thing is that although we have very different backgrounds and beliefs  we have so much in common . I've wanted to do justice to her hard work by not putting up a snapshot. I set up the new camera and I think I got a few OK photos for this post. I can't wait to have a proper dining room with a table I've hand made to place it on.  It is reversible! I also got a framed vintage Halloween card that I didn't get any good photos of yet. Now I need to learn to be a good person and figure out Thank You cards. 

Here is the broccoli and collards we planted last fall. We actually have broccoli! The watermelon radishes were a bust, I'm finished with them. I think there are some shallots or onions in there. I didn't get a photo of the garlic and Rocket arugula in the larger raised bed not shown to the left. I'm wearing the Simplicity 2603 cardi-wrap that I've been needing to finish for over a month. I sewed it up today and am quite happy with the result. I could really jazz it up with a cinch belt and some leggings if I keep up with the jogging.  Broccoli that made it through the winter. The grow op is in full swing. We've got tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and flowers coming up. Happy St. Patties!

This is the dress, presses and finished. Its not perfect, but it will do. I added the darts in the back. Unfinished hem in this shot, but you get the idea. I usually use drapes to hide my imperfections, but this close fitting piece is comfortable as well as flattering. Who knew?  I think I'll wear it tomorrow night at the Red Light Variety Show .

Attaching the sleeves was a bit stressful, but I got 'em on. Bling.

I like the deconstructed look that this Etsy Seller has. But I also don't want to make a bunch of asymmetrical funky stuff that screams "Hey, I have a SERGER!" I also love the look of Joan Harris from Mad Men . I also like this, I know, nerd, right? Since I am me, I decided to buy a fabric I liked and then design a dress for it using a pattern and making some changes. This is the pattern I chose. Simplicity 2337 as seen on Pattern Review .com Since this is my first several pieced pattern I decided a musin was the way to go with this project. So I got to tracing and cutting. I know most people don't trace their patterns, but I like to. Those are my tuna can pattern weights. The curve is to adjust the pattern for my proportions which span several sizes (hence why I've taken up sewing). I like the muslin because I can mark directly on the fabric the changes I need to make. Its my lumpy body double. After lots of changes, seam ripping, and re-basting, I fin...

I still have to touch on the body image issue, just not today. This is my latest creation made from a free pattern on the internet and cotton/poly/spandex jersey. Not my best photo, but people see me looking way more embarrassing every day. Actually, I'm almost never embarrassed about how I appear, only except when captured with a photograph. You see, we move through life making all sorts of faces, sounds, and smells. Those fade with time. That's why a live performance is so good, but a single mistake on an album lives on and on, over and over, making itself more noticeable with each play. Maybe this is a bit about body image. My dress form was made in an evening while watching television. I ate and drank, I used the bathroom. Kyle kept telling me that I'd distort it. I said a body in motion is for how clothing should be made. After several hours and several layers of packaging tape, he carefully cut the dress form off me. As soon as I saw it I was mortified. I was...