Sigourney Weaver Called

… and she's really pissed that Melanie gave you her blouse. ;-)

So here it is, in all of its 1980s shoulder-padded dolman glory. And if you think this is hilarious—

Look at this:

But in my time-warped way, I still kinda love it. Just not enough to wear it in public.That's OK. It got its fair share of wearing, and then some, back in 1985 or whenever it was I bought it. (And it's not shiny, like it looks in these pics. Weird how photos change some fabrics.) My personal color palette hasn't changed much since then either, which makes sense since *I* am still the same color, give or take a little gray and some wrinkles, and much smaller hair.

Here's a couple more shots, one showing the deep pleats on the side front.

And the other showing what a pain in the @ss it was to get in and out of this thing, plus the sleeves also had three small buttons up each to give it that very fitted look at my wrists. But the fabric (silk) is still in great condition. The whole blouse looks brand new. Well, except for that 1980s thing it has going on.

Moving ahead to 2011, I present the HP Pussycat muslin. This is a straight 16, except for the sleeves. I had to add 2" to those, but they sewed in with no easing required. Yay Trudy!

I think the only "alterations" I'm going to do are (1) add some length at the bottom, (2) add a little extra length under the bust on the upper bodice, and (3) take some ring out of the bell sleeves. Hah. I slay myself. Or, I might just elasticate the wrists and call it done. The neckline isn't as low as the pattern illustration (but since when do those HP drawings ever ring entirely true? Ring! Hah. Get it?), but I really don't feel like altering it so it's going to stay as drafted, at least in this version.

I'm going to cut the good stuff right after dinner and maybe I'll have a new blouse by bedtime.

Weekend Sewing Plans

These are the patterns I picked to make this weekend from the HUGE stack of "on deck." I will be muslining both. The Pussycat blouse because I goofed on my last couple of HPs by picking a too-big upper chest size and I don't want to do that again. Plus, the sleeves. My biceps haven't seen 13" since I was 10. I'm also going to make a quick muslin of the skirt (view A, the gray one) to be sure on the length since chopping off at the bottom isn't a good option with the flounce. I've got the blouse muslin mostly cut out. I just have to alter the sleeve and cut it and then I'm ready for ugly sewing.

Coming downstairs to get on the computer, I saw the box with my Fabric Mart order sitting on the kitchen counter, which must have arrived in the last hour. Wow. That was FAST! Wasn't it just Thursday that I straightened out the mysterious credit card problem with my order? I'm not complaining.

I also snuck in yet another Fabric.com order earlier this morning. The sweater knits I received the other day washed up like a dream and I saw they had some moleskin, so I ordered another sweater knit, a taupe moleskin, and just enough other stuff to reach the $35 free shipping level, and used a coupon for 10% off, and OMG my fabric stash is exploding. (Run-on sentence much?) I sat in my sewing room today looking at it and contemplating that at some point fairly soon I'm going to have to pack it all up and move it. Now that will be a chore.

Also this morning I had a little fun in my closet again. I've got a few past favorite garments from when I used to work in Washington, D.C. in the 80s. I was a clothes horse then, with a hefty income for a single girl with no other bills, and paid outrageous amounts for my clothes in the downtown department stores (does anyone remember Raleighs?), so I kept a few just for posterity. They crack me up when I see them every once in a while. Well, today, I tried on 2 of the blouses just to see how I compare in size now to then. They are 1980s size 12. Both pretty much fit, but one is too snug at the hip to button the last button so it technically doesn't fit yet. The other one — well, wait until I press it, get myself photo-ready, and snap a pic. It's very Melanie Griffith/Working Girl, complete with the shoulder pads of the times. But it's so out that it's actually in again, sans shoulder pads. So who knows — I may just end up wearing it one day for real. One of the skirts I saved — well, let's just say that by seeing how teeny tiny the width was on the hanger told me there was no way I was going to be able to zip it today, so I left it on the hanger for another time. But it's definitely motivation to get that teeny tiny again, although crunches will have to be involved for that.

Speaking of closets and wrong-size clothes, do you think donating my self-made clothes that are too big is an option when none of them have size tags? I'm thinking that may be a big problem for a thrift store. But I also want them OUT of my house. My box overfloweth and I don't want any temptation to keep some to remake because while I could, I'm pretty sure I won't.

Unsolicitation

I think it was Elizabth of SEWN who coined that phrase, meaning an unsolicited compliment on one's outfit of the day. I'm not sure if it applies to both self-sewn and RTW. Elizabeth?

Anyway … at the end of the day, my boss told me out of the blue that she really liked my outfit. I said, "Thank you." Pause, pause. "I made it." Her eyes lit up and she said, "Wow! It looks so professonal." At first I thought she meant professional as in work. But I laughed later as I realized she meant professional as in RTW. I think her actual meaning was probably a bigger compliment since I'm sure I look professional/work every day.

That's all I have today. Sewing room time tonight will only be to overcast/serge the ends of my new fabrics and start running them through the washer and dryer so I'm prepped for some weekend sewing. Later, atop my bed in front of the tube, I'm also going to go through my huge stacks of new patterns and make a plan as to WHAT I'm going to sew.

I did remember to call Fabric Mart today and my credit card went through just fine today so who knows what the problem was. I had a shipping notice when I got home, so those fabrics should arrive at the end of next week.

ETA: I had a question about where in Joann's I found the stretch bengaline. It was in with the suiting fabrics. Some is properly marked, some isn't. At least at my local store. Look for the teeny tiny ribs and the lengthwise stretch.

I Needed A Quickie

Today was crazy at work. We had lots of materials to gather and ship off for a conference in Atlanta on Friday, some of which were last-minute additions, hence the crazy part, and some I've been working on for a couple of weeks and today got to see printed and unveiled for the first time. It was nice to see my work "in the flesh" and it was even nicer to be an appreciated member of the team that made it all happen. All of this is to say I REALLY needed to sew when I got home (late) tonight.

I'm very glad that while I cut out the drape-neck top last night, I didn't force things by sewing it. First, I needed that extra rest today but even more important (you see where my priorities are), it was a nice quickie project to sew up without too much brain power involved.

And, here it is with the Love/Hate skirt. This will be tomorrow's outfit. I have a meeting tomorrow with a possible vendor for an odd packaging project and I want to look and feel good. New clothes always do the trick. I will probably grab one of my cardis to have handy for my daily freezing spell. I'm eating my words a lot lately it seems, but I'm actually preferring pantyhose most days since they keep my legs warm. Who wudda thunk?

Here's the top on Zillie so maybe you can see the drape better. I made this top extra long so I could "scrunch" it up with a belt. I may or may not still shorten it. I'll see how it wears tomorrow.

And my previously TNT Ottobre 02/07 tee underneath the cowl morph.

While the tee still fits in the shoulders, neckline and armhole depth, it's now way too big in the width. I sewed up the new top per this pattern above and tried it on. Then I took in an inch at each sideseam, straight up through the armhole and sleeve, for a total of 4 inches — and it's still not tight. But I'm not complaining. I realized about a week ago that I was eating serving sizes based on habit and not on hunger. I reduced the portions, feel much better after meals again, and moved the scale significantly. I lost 8 lbs this week and saw a number on the scale this morning that I haven't seen in a decade. Woot!

My Fabric.com order was waiting for me Monday night. Back row left to right: sweater knit, sweater knit, sweater knit, rayon challis, rayon challis, sweater knit. Front: wool, wool blend. The sweater knits will be cardigans. The rayon challis is to be blouses, and the wools will be skirts. My Fabric Mart order is delayed. I received a voicemail from them telling me they were ready to ship but there was a problem with my credit card. Hmmm. I guess I will need to remember to call them tomorrow from the office and get that sucker on its way. Not that I've got a shortage anymore of fabrics to sew or anything.

Parting Thought: One of the first things I do when I get home from work is to check my email. It's so nice to be welcomed home by all the nice comments from you. It really starts my evenings off with happy thoughts. Thank you!!

Nothing Really New

I don't have anything new to show, but I did get a haircut after work today. This is what I wore to work and the salon. I decided to be "brave" and didn't wear a cardigan or jacket. This meant I had to suck in my stomach ALL DAY LONG. lol But that's good for the ab muscles, right?

I also wore my new pumps. I love new shoes that are comfortable all day, the first wearing. I wish these came in lots of colors because I'd be buying them too.

There hasn't been much happening in the sewing room yet. Last night I had to go grocery shopping. I had put it off from Sunday since it was raining here all day and I didn't feel like schlepping groceries to the car in the downpour.

Tonight was the haircut and then a late dinner. But I did make a very quick muslin of my cowl pattern and my pattern morph needed some adjustment. So glad I didn't just cut the good stuff the other night. But I'm going to throw the rest of my caution to the wind and cut the fabric tonight. Maybe I'll even get it sewn up. I'm not counting on it though, since I only have about 90 minutes before my internal batteries wind down.

I've been thinking about Carolyn's "Quickie" post off and on today, and it suddenly dawned on me that I *want* most of my projects to be quickies, not that it means they will be unflattering or badly finished. But when I thought about it, I realized that pretty much everything I wear is a basic piece and basics usually are quickies. Sure, sometimes I branch out and make a jacket, even lining some, or a Ren Faire costume, but that's not my usual M.O. Pattern alterations is what usually takes the longest time, which is why TNTs are so welcome — because then I have a "quickie" that I can sew over and over. And I'm OK with that. Except that my TNTs are dwindling.

If you want a little bright spot reading about someone who is new to sewing and still excited about the process, her new skills, and her continuing education, go read Stacie's anniversary post. It made me smile.

Parting Shot: I told Tyler to be creative with his pics and this is what I got today (C130 prop). It's really fun for me to see bits and pieces of his Marine Corps life. His first Marine Corps Ball is coming up in a month. I can't wait to see those pics in his dress blues with his new rank! His on/off GF Kelli is flying up to be his date, and I know he's looking forward to that.