SWAP didn't quite make it, but here is the last post and today's.

Well, I started this on March 26, and then wanted to wait til I could upload the pictures. Who knew it would take over a month to get back to it! I hope this isn't too confusing as it has the initial post with added comments along with the pictures. Couldn't turn down work when hubby is still off. So I got Saturday, Sunday, and today (March 26) instead of four days. But I did get some things done. I finished the Hot Patterns Weekender cowl. It is okay and I can wear it around home, but it doesn't fit right, and I'm not enamored of it. The "inset" was just wrong. Without elastic it hung down below the boobs, and with elastic it pulled the front armholes in, and still hung too low so didn't do any extra coverage. The neckline isn't right for me either, and the back doesn't match the front. Perhaps if I had made it form fitting, it would have been okay, but that's not something I like on me at this age and weight! My husband's comments... the front looks formal and the back is too short and looks like work wear. So the bottom line is that I will keep it and wear it around here with a tank under it. Not for work, unfortunately. BUT, I did find out that cowls are an attractive alternative for my current body and shape. That's a good thing to know as they are so ubiquitous at this point in time. In my mind, I think I'll use my TNT Pamela's Perfect Tee pattern and just draft a cowl neck on that so I have something I know fits well and is a good jumping off point Looking back at this, I was a little incorrect. I started wearing it around the house, and it's SUPER comfortable. It does have a few issues, but I do like it. I'm going to work on this one for fall and winter. It should be a keeper for the cooler months.

I drafted a pair of workout pants, and made a muslin, using my sweatshirt fabric, which will become pjs. They are okay, but needed a slight bit of tweaking. Then got the second pair underway, and they're about half done. So today those get finished, and hopefully along with them at least one tee and preferably two. But I seem to be getting distracted a lot with outside issues, and not having my full sewing day as I wanted. These are pretty good looking for workout sweat pants, VERY comfortable, and get worn almost every day when I get home. Here's a picture when we took an afternoon and drove out to Grizzly Island. The tee is one I made for my SWAP also.

Christmas before last I decided that I'd make everyone sweats for Christmas, and bought ten yards of sweatshirt fleece in navy, black and gray. None of them got done, so I have a LOT of sweatshirt fleece around here. I may also use a piece of matching color to make one of the sweaters with long drapey fronts. I must have a pattern around here for one of those! Even though I went and bought about 4 of the patterns with the waterfall front cardigan, I wound up using my Petite Plus sweater set cardigan for this. I had made one already (this year or December?) in a gray sweater knit, so knew it would fit. It's definitely going to be a TNT! It's another, super comfortable, fits well, and will get tons of wear! I only have a picture of it on Lulu, not on me. But here it is:

On another note, Spring has arrived, and with my blogger "friends" getting organized, the bug has hit me too. I love to cook and wind up cutting out and printing recipes off the internet regularly. When we figured out I'm gluten intolerant, it made for a lot of recipe searching to find things I could eat. Many more internet recipes printed out to try. So then I have all these bits and pieces all over the kitchen and can't find what I'm looking for. So this morning I took a couple of binders, my three hole punch, tape, and binder paper, and taped the little bits onto binder paper, hole punched the computer paper and got them at least categorized into areas. I worked on this for a couple of hours, and still have some to go, but I can see an end to the madness! I love being organized.

Pre Dale, I had everything exactly where it was supposed to be at all times, and I WAS one of those women that have their spices alphabetized. 10 years into our marriage, and I realize after seeing what a total slob he is, I kind of gave up. So I have had a bit of my own mess going. Well, no more. As I'm doing my SWAP, I'm also organizing and moving things around to make them more user friendly. Last night I actually moved my serger in next to the sewing machine. I've been using parts of a few rooms for my sewing things, and now I have those two right next to each other with the ironing board adjacent. Will make things much easier! Less running room to room, and more production. Gotta love that! Moving on: I also got another tee done, a rayon-lycra, super comfortable, goes with both my navy and grey cores:

Then, instead of our normal cool and rainy Spring, we got hit with almost full on summer with temps already into the 80s. I wasn't that excited about continuing to make long sleeved blouses, so I switched my focus to things I could wear right now. I had downloaded the Collette Sorbetto Tank Top after seeing it on so many blogs. I didn't have a lot of faith in it fitting me as I've been trying to get a tank to fit properly for almost 3 years now with not much luck. I got this one to fit and was so excited! The muslin got pinned and chopped, and morphed into the first tank, which I figured was a trial garment. The fabric is fine, and will go with my grays and black too, but it wasn't going to be a huge loss if it didn't work out. I know I got it on sale for a minimal price and it was a small piece, so it worked out perfect to use it for my "wearable muslin." And I have worn it a few times already. Looking at it on it's own I can see some things that need to be changed, but it works great with gray or black trousers and a cream colored jacket, and I've worn it for work a few times already. Bad picture, but you can see it.

Second try with a few tweaks was an oatmeal colored cotton interlock knit. This one I actually put the pleat in the front. It'll go with tons of stuff I already have as well as the grey and navy of my swap. Sorry this one is on Lulu too, as I haven't actually worn it yet.

I'm thrilled I joined the SWAP even if I didn't get enough garments completed to be officially a finisher. It got me to try several patterns I had not used before, do some muslins and really look at fit of things, and got me back into sewing if not every day, at least a little bit every week. So for me it was a huge win. And in other news, I got a new doctor, who happens to be a homeopath as well as specializing in sports medicine. She's working with me on getting my knee to actually heal and helping with the other issues I have going on. I found out I had actually torn my meniscus, so it wasn't in my imagination. I am back in the knee brace every day, doing some PT, paying attention to where and how I'm moving, have a cane to use on bad days, and back to icing on a regular basis. In addition, by correcting a few other items I had going on, I've finally started to lose weight again. Good news and bad news. Bad news is I had to redraft my pants pattern because it was too big. Good news is IT WAS TOO BIG! Unfortunately, I have a lot to lose at this point in time, but I'm hoping to be like Debbie Cook and just keep on sewing smaller clothes and losing until I get back down to the weight I'm supposed to be. :P}} It's going to be a long process, so hopefully I'll get to just keep drafting smaller and smaller sizes for the next year or so. In actuality, I love drafting pants patterns, so it's not a strain, nor is it an issue. Construction jobs around here just seem to have completely dried up, and we're thrilled Dale was able to keep working on a more or less regular basis as long as he did. But he's now switched to a new career, and will be doing Home Inspections on a full time basis. He's got his first few under his belt, and is making contacts, and hopefully will be fully employed by the end of the year. It's the perfect niche for him. He's meticulous, exacting, and knows more about building houses than anyone I've ever met. It should give me a little breathing room so I can get some free time to sew again. Now off to make the third version of the Collette Sorbetto Tank, and cut out my next pair of slacks in the right size again. Hope your Sunday was great, and I'll try to get back more frequently.