March Skirt

Oh yeah, I did it!  Of course it kind of looks like a tablecloth on me, which is one of the reasons I photographed it on the dress form.  I broke one of my sewing rules with this skirt, which is don't try to make clothes out of quilt fabric.  Actually it works fine for kids' clothes, but adult clothes are supposed to have a more fluid drape and quilt fabrics are usually made of short fibers which don't drape as well.  This is a better quality quilt fabric so it could be worse, but the skirt has too much flare for this fabric, making it stick out like a bell when I wear it.  Oh well, it looks cute on the dress form so I may just leave it there.  And even if I never wear it, there were some benefits to making this skirt:

1.  I've stuck with my goal for 3 months. Only 9 to go!

2.  I came up with a pattern that fits reasonably well.  I need to tweak the back a little and maybe take out some of the flare, but overall it's pretty good.

3.  I learned a lot about making a really narrow bias trim.  See the strips along the pocket edge and at the bottom of the yoke?  It's some charcoal gray taffeta left over from a skirt I made for Ashley.  It doesn't look that great on the pockets but I didn't have time to redo it.  The yoke looks much better.  When it's only 1/8" wide any uneven stitches really show up.  I got in some good practice and now I'm practically a pro!

For the sake of record-keeping, I used about $10 worth of fabric and everything else was already on hand.  Technically the fabric was already on hand too, since I bought it for another purpose, but since I only bought it last week and I remember how much is was, I might as well count it as a cost.

I have to say that this project would have been much more enjoyable if my sewing room weren't such a disaster area.  I think I should resolve to clean and organize it really well next month and post pictures, but I'm not quite ready to make that commitment.

It's Almost April...

Yes, it's the day before the end of another month.  Besides all the personal things I need to do before March ends, I still have one very public (meaning public to my 4 followers) goal to accomplish by tomorrow.  That's right, I still need to sew a skirt.  I actually did start a skirt a few weeks ago but it requires a LOT of hand sewing that I planned to do while watching tv with my family in the evenings.  Then I got the flu.  Then we went on vacation.  Then I bought some new books (oops, reading shouldn't be an excuse to not sew!).  Anyway, the skirt looks about the same today as it did three weeks ago and even if I worked around the clock there are not enough hours left in the month for me to finish it.  So am I going to give up, use all my excuses, and fail in my skirt-a-month goal in only the 3rd month of the year?  Umm, I'm not sure yet, but hopefully not.  I have a plan B.  Last week I bought some fabric that might make a cute little dress or something for a soon-to-be-born niece.  Actually there's enough to make at least 4 baby dresses, or maybe 2 baby dresses and an adult skirt.  Not even a baby wants more than one dress out of the same fabric so I'm betting she won't mind if I use some of the extra.  Not that I have a pattern yet and the clock is ticking, but I'm hoping I can come up with something by today, then cut it out, fit it, and start some of the sewing before I go to bed tonight.  It's a good thing I have a stash of interfacing, thread and zippers - I shouldn't have to make a run to the fabric store today or tomorrow.  I'll let you know tomorrow how this turns out.  In the meantime, wish me luck!!

The Monster That Ate My Dream

I’ve told this story to my children several times, but it was only a story about what led me to change my college major.  It was only recently I realized there is an important moral to the story.  This is for my children and anyone else who has a dream:

In the summer of 1986, between my freshman and sophomore years at BYU, I decided to be a Costume Design major.  I read books on the topic and I’ve always been fascinated by costumes in movies.  The curriculum looked full of interesting classes in sewing, design and history of costume.  Most of the required classes overlapped with the other Clothing and Textiles majors and I’d already been taking and enjoying those classes.  My first class specific to costume design was a 1 credit class, predictably called “Intro to Costume Design”.  It was offered during the second block (or second half) of winter semester.  Finally, I would be taking a real costume design class! 

I remember that first day of class.  It was my first class in the Harris Fine Arts Center, in an obscure room that wasn’t very easy to find.  I walked into the room.  At first glance the room looked small, but I think that’s because the ceiling was high and the room was pretty full.  There were less than 10 students in the class.  There weren’t any desks or chairs, but there were a few stools at work tables along two walls.  We all found a stool and listened to the instructor introduce the class.  First, she said there was no textbook.  Yay!  Second, she told us we would be asked to help with costume changes for the BYU productions.  “Asked to help” really meant “your grade depends on this”.  This was a little problematic for me as I imagined the 20+ minute walk home alone late at night across a dark and deserted campus in sub-freezing temperatures.  It wasn’t a deal breaker though. 

Her next proclamation, however, changed my life.  She pointed to one corner of the room.  There was a huge structure made out of chicken wire with a face near the top of the 15 foot tall behemoth.  The bottom couple feet were covered with long strands of purple yarn attached to the wire.  It looked like a giant Barney zombie.  No, an UNFINISHED giant Barney zombie.  Our assignment, if we chose to accept it, was to spend most of every class time attaching yarn to this monster so it could be used in a play.  You know how during the Rose Parade the announcers always speak with high admiration of all the volunteers who happily and painstakingly apply poppy seeds, one by one, to make eyelashes on a character on one of the floats?  I’d shoot myself before I’d volunteer for that, and that’s the same way I felt about spending hours and hours tying yarn to chicken wire. 

I sat through the class, then walked straight to the Smith Family Living Center where I dropped the class and changed my major to Fashion Merchandising.  The next week someone from the theater department called to ask if I would help with costume changes that weekend.  When I told her I dropped the class she laughed and said I was the fourth person she called and the first three had dropped the class also.  I guess I wasn’t the only one intimidated by the monster.

That one stupid monster changed my major, the people I would meet in college, and who knows what else in the course of my life.  Maybe I owe that monster a great big thank you because I have a wonderful life and I wouldn’t change a thing.  But as my children get ready to leave for college and follow their dreams, I can’t help but wonder what monsters will stand in their way.  Will it be a difficult professor or the challenge of learning something new?  Will they face their monsters and defeat them, or will they turn and walk away?  I wish I’d tried costume design and decided I didn’t like it, but instead I let a monster eat my dream.

February Skirt

I did NOT wait until the last day of the month to make this month's skirt!  Actually, my plan was to make a red dress in the spirit of Valentines Day.  The pattern was easy but the fitting turned out to be more than I could finish this month.  I really needed to do a skirt anyway because #1 that's my rule and #2 I needed to try out a pattern for next month's skirt (which is going to take a long time and will hopefully be done next month!).  Here's what I came up with:

Ok, just like last month I took the picture before my skirt is technically done.  The waistband is only basted on, resulting in a little extra ridge right below my waist that I really don't need!  For the record, I did finish the hem in the January skirt before midnight on January 31, and I wore it in public this month.  

Here's the rundown of this month's skirt:  I've had this red knit fabric since before we moved into this house in 1997.  I bought 5 yards of it for something like $2 a yard.  I used less than a yard of it on this skirt, leaving plenty left over to try out the dress pattern I mentioned above.  I've been looking for a good, basic a-line skirt pattern.  On Monday I bought Stitch magazine at Barnes and Noble ($14.99) and one of the projects was a pull-on knit a-line skirt.  It took me more time to download the pattern than it did to make the skirt.  (I downloaded adobe reader 10, found out some pdf files are not compatible with google chrome, finally printed the pattern, read the printing instructions, printed the pattern again...)  The pattern was super easy.  The same pattern piece is used for the front and back.  There's no elastic in the waistband because the knit fabric keeps the skirt up, but I think next time I might add elastic.  I had to lengthen it a couple inches to make it knee-length, but otherwise I didn't alter it.  I made the size large because I didn't want it clinging on my stomach.  I'll definitely use this pattern again.

I bought some dark gray tights on Monday that look good with the skirt, but now I need a gray sweater to match.  The t-shirt I'm wearing in the picture certainly doesn't work with it!  In fact, after looking at the picture I'm thinking I'll give the t-shirt away.  I guess this means I should go shopping tomorrow!

January Skirt

This year I set a goal to make myself one skirt every month. To make things even more complicated, I thought each skirt should somehow represent the month in which it was made. This morning I woke up and realized it's the 31st and I was about to blow my goal in the first month. In my defense, it's been a really busy month and I already sewed a dress for Ashley so I think I could have justified starting in February, but I set the goal and I decided to stick with it.

My theme for January would be thriftiness, since I always try to save money in January to make up for all the holiday spending. Funny how it's easier for me to go on a money diet than on a food diet. This skirt used to be a dress that never fit that well to begin with. I cut off the top, hiked it up a few inches, put on a waistband, and look what I have! Ok, it wasn't quite that easy since I added darts and curves and had to figure out how to get a waistband out of the smallest part of the dress, but it wasn't that hard either. If you don't count the cost of the dress, which was a sunk cost several years ago, the skirt cost me nothing. I reused the zipper from the dress, used up a couple almost-empty spools of thread, and already had interfacing and a hook and eye.

I still have a few finishing details left (ok, I'll admit it, the hem is taped up) but I swear I'll finish by tonight. As a side note, I learned a few things about taking pictures of myself. First, you can't take a picture in a mirror using a flash. Duh. Second, I now know how to use the timer on my camera. Third, this would have been much easier with a tripod.

Crash and Burn

I took a blogging break so I could focus on the holidays.  Now two months later the pies are made and eaten, the leftover Christmas ham is gone.  The only things that still linger are a few extra pounds and our artificial tree which is disassembled but lying in pieces on the living room floor.  I have high hopes that it will be in the garage by tomorrow.

My to-do list has been topped all week by "update blog" but more pressing matters keep coming up.  My very-part-time job is only demanding in January, when I have to wrap up the year-end accounting, file all the quarterly and annual payroll tax returns, and mail the W-2's (to employees who inevitably want them the first week of January but fail to update their addresses until the end of February).  I'm now behind in my paid job because of my new volunteer "job" as Stake Young Women's president at church.  In the last week I've probably spent over 30 hours taking care of church business.  I think that will calm down as I get acclimated but there are some big events coming up such as Youth Conference next month and a Tri-stake dance festival in June.  Not to mention visiting all ten of the wards in our stake, one of which is about an hour and a half drive from my house.

With all that to do, I was forced to slow down this past week because something happened to my back.  I'm not sure what it was, I didn't move weird or strain it, I was just walking around the house on Monday talking on the  phone and it started to hurt.  On Tuesday I could hardly walk and I spent most of the day in bed.  I survived Wednesday and Thursday with lots of heat and tylenol, and by today I'm pretty much back to normal.  I'm too young to have my body parts wearing out on me!

So here it is, the middle of January, and this is what I have to do:
1.  Buy groceries!  I couldn't lift anything last week or walk long enough to shop.  Now we're out of everything.  (Yes I know Mormons are supposed to have food storage for times like this and we do, but it's pretty impossible to make homemade pancake mix or bread when you can't move.  I guess I should add some convenience foods to our food storage.)
2.  Catch up on work.  Those W-2's won't mail themselves.
3.  Sew a dress for Ashley.  Her winter formal is the 29th.
4.  Sew a skirt for myself.  Now that I'm spending all this time in church meetings I need more skirts and dresses.  My goal for 2011 is to sew one a month.  More on that later!
5.  Email about a dozen people about various items of church business (planning lessons, setting dates for meetings, coordinating schedules, etc.)

With all these pressing things to do, what am I doing?  Yep, updating my blog.  After a week of running hard and fast (when I wasn't stuck in bed) I need a day off.  Or at least a couple hours.  The list can wait until tomorrow.

A few thoughts on motherhood...

This blog is supposed to be about me and not my kids, but I've been a mom for almost 18 years.  It's part of who I am so I think it's a fair topic.  I've been a stay-at-home mom since before my children were born.  I spent seven weeks of my pregnancy in bed and much of the first year after their birth stuck at home with two infants and no car.  Honestly, it's been a sacrifice at times.  Those first five years before they started school seemed to last forever.  I honestly can't say I enjoyed anything about spending all day feeding and changing babies.  There were some fun times when they were toddlers but it was still exhausting work.  I think I did a pretty good job despite not always loving what I was doing.  I played with them and read to them and when they were 3 we started having "home preschool" where I taught them colors, shapes, numbers and letters, and we played games and made crafts.  At 4 years old they started real preschool and I got a little bit of a break while they spent a few hours away from me.  That's about the time I started working at our family business.  It was only a few hours a week while the kids were at preschool, and it gave me a little spending money but also used up the free time I'd been looking forward to.  I got more of a break when they started kindergarten and then the longer days of first grade and beyond.  All through grade school I volunteered in the classroom, partly to see how they were doing in school academically and socially, and partly because I really enjoyed spending time with them and their friends.   Parenthood really started to get fun for me when they were in middle school.  They were independent enough to do their homework without being reminded and they started to experience more things outside of school and home.  They were old enough to have real conversations with and they were really a lot of fun. About that time I started to have church responsibilities that let me be an almost-mom to lots of other teenagers.  I think I was born to raise teenagers.  I love it when my kids invite all their friends over to our house.  I love to hear them laugh and play, I don't mind it when they're noisy, and I'll gladly feed and take care of all of them.

I had thought that as my kids got older it would be best for me to get a "real job" to help with the added expenses that come along with teenagers.  I didn't do that, choosing instead to keep my very part-time job so I can be available whenever my kids need me.  I can honestly say I'm glad I made that decision.  I'm grateful for all the times I'm able to greet my kids at the door after school, ask about their day, congratulate them on their accomplishments and hug them when things haven't gone so well.  I'm glad I can drive to school in the middle of the day to deliver a forgotten lunch or assignment.  I'm glad I can answer a text or email from my kids or from one of my many "other kids".  I thought motherhood would be less work at this stage and in some ways it is.  I don't have the constant drudgery of cleaning up after babies, but I still have a lot of laundry to do and the clothes are bigger.  The problems are bigger too.  A kiss and a bandaid used to fix most things, but not any more.  There are big decisions to be made and big issues to deal with.  The successes are huge, but so are the disappointments.

Overall, despite the sacrifices and challenges, motherhood is the biggest and best part of my life.  I'm grateful for all the children (most of whom are too old to want to be called children) who call me Mom, Mama, or friend.