Forget-Me-Nots Along The Way

Sewing Bee and Other Buzz

Well, I have been busy the last day and a half.  I made five skirts! I used an A-line, elastic waist skirt pattern from Fashion Patterns by Coni . This is a great resource for the plus size woman.  Not only are the patterns big enough but they are also cut to fit and made from a 3X sloper instead of a size 6 sloper and then made bigger, which makes poor fitting garments in the larger sizes!  She has had quite a career in design, teaching in LA and has written textbooks used by design schools.  She doesn't have a huge variety, but what she has is nice for building staples for your wardrobe.

So, I made one skirt denim.  I actually got the denim from the home decor department at JoAnn's because the only actual denim that wasn't stretchy was embroidered.  (JoAnn's is basically a craft store now, NOT a sewing store!) It is pretty nice denim.  A second is a brushed denim look fabric, lighter weight.  It turned my hands blue!  The third is a tiny navy/white check, so tiny that at a few feet away it reads as a solid.  It's a lighter weight shirting fabric that I got at Walmart for $1 a yard.  It's actually a nice quality of fabric.  The fourth is a pretty challis, black background with lavender and blue tiny flowers which are calico looking.  I love the feel of Challis.  I got this fabric at Walmart for $2 a yard 8 years ago before I got married.  The fifth and last is a lovely piece that I bought at JoAnn's in 1987 when I was working there during the summer when I was in college.  I was saving this for a special dress as a reward when I lost weight...well...after 19 years it has become a skirt.  It is a nice black background with medium sized stylized roses on it in bright pink, light gray and turquoise.  I know that sounds garish but it really is not.  I think it is a rayon but I am not sure.  It's a nice quality of fabric though.  That one is my husband's favorite and it and the Challis one will be for church. The others are more for everyday wear.

It was satisfying to get that accomplished and then when I got done I did a fashion show for hubby.  What I discovered is that the elastic on each one is too loose.  I need to pull it out at the side, snip and restitch to make it smaller.  I am wondering if anyone knows what formula to use in determining the amount of elastic needed...l seem to remember from high school home ec that it was a certain percentage of your actual waist measurement, but I can't remember what percent.  It's better to have them be too big than too small! LOL

I have been noticing in the shadow of the Korean missile testing that the violence is increasing in the middle east.  I have had some friends on my mind.  They live in Israel, they are tentmaker missionaries and one of their daughters is currently serving in the required 2 years military service. I hope she is safe.

My friend Dale is at MD Anderson in Houston for a bone marrow transplant.  She is doing the chemo this week.  She has myelofibrosis which is a type of blood cancer.  Susan Butcher also had this (Iditarod winner) and recently had her transplant in Seattle. Dale will be in Houston for several months.  She lives in Orlando.  So there are expenses.  Her spinning guild has set up a charity page http://chip-n--for-dale.blogspot.com/. There are lots of neat things for knitting and spinning and some lace shawls, different things being donated and raffled with donations to help offset the cost of residing in Houston.  Dale is such a lovely lady.  We are praying that God will heal her through this transplant.

Besides sewing today, our family went to Costco to stock up, so I'm pretty bushed.  I'm going to sign off and do my Bible reading. I'm reading through the Bible and didn't start this until about April.  I read the NT first and now I am reading the OT.  I just finished reading about all the lovely things in the Tabernacle that God is instructing Moses about.  I am reading some of the Psalms along with my OT reading to keep me encouraged if I get bogged down in the begats and the lists of things to do and not do. I think it's important to read, so don't get me wrong, it just doesn't have the same uplifting side effect as some passages, so I alternate.  I love reading my Bible, even with all that.  It is a habit my Grandma taught me that I am thankful for.  I just haven't been as consistent with daily reading as my Precept Bible studies always take a lot of home work/study time.  I am done for the summer though and this is kind of a nice relaxing, getting together with God time!