Better, but no cigar!

 Well, I decided I really like the aqua check seersucker, so thought I'd make another version from a different pattern that was closer to my body size and shape. I figured out that I purchased about 7 1/2  yards of this fabric from Hancocks Fabric in Vallejo in 2016 as it was going out of business. It's a beautiful fabric. 

I used version 2 (out of 3) of my Kayla Pattern from the In House Patterns Fitting Essentials program. This has a date of March of 2023. I never did get it fit right, got frustrated and moved on. I had something like 28 adjustments made to the pattern, and it still wasn't right. The fit in the neck and shoulders is good. There are several areas I did adjust on this version and more I need to for my current body. 

The bust dart is too high. The back has several issues including flaring out quite a bit at the hem, and I have folds from my right shoulder blade to my hip, as well as "bunching" for lack of a better word at the base of the back armholes. I also reduced the sleeve 1" in diameter at the hemline.

I'm having issues with the back of my bodices, due in part I think to my right shoulder being 1/2" lower than the left. My body seems to be getting more and more asymetrical by the week. Additionally, my weight varies as much as five pounds from week to week. Being old is not for the weak! 😉

Front

Back

Today I am starting the Whole 30 program. I am generally having extreme joint pain, bloating, insomnia, intestinal disturbances, and a few other fun issues. I have been trying to find a way to solve the joint pain, and get off all the large doses of acetaminophen. I dislike taken medications very much, but I do have to function. I'm hoping that as my research indicates, a change in my food choices will help with the arthritis pain. Whole 30 is an elimanation diet, and at the end of 30 days, you start adding back foods that were eliminated and paying very close attention to how specific foods effect your personal physiology. 

As time goes along, I'm still trying to get some sewing done. I have started tracing the Love Notions Metra Blazer with the hopes of some nicer looking warmish "sweat jackets" for winter. We'll see how it goes. 

The first one will be out of a burgundy cotton sweatshirt fleece purchased from Pico Textiles on February 6th, 2023. I'm going to do the shawl collar as I like the look a bit better, and it will look more as a jacket than a sweatshirt when I'm doing my Turbo Tax video calls. People only see the top of my body, so it's just how it looks on video. I'm working starting in December this year, and the predictions are for a very cold winter, and so I'm expecting to have several months of cold weather before it gets to shirt sleeves weather. 

Wish me luck!

Disappointing Outcome

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. Altough to be fair, at this age, I have quite a few issues that prevent me sewing much. 

I've lost a few pounds and am needing to get moving forward with some additional projects. To that end, and also to meet some local garment sewers, I took a class at a local quilt shop in sewing a shirt. Basic class. Unfortunately, the pattern used was New Look 6197. I had requested a copy of the pattern pre class to alter the size a bit, for my various physical changes, but my request was either forgotten, or they didn't receive the pattern in time. As a result I was in class trying to grade up an unfamiliar to me brand of pattern without sufficient data or the appropriate tools.

I got the pattern to the wearable stage, but am unhappy with the fit, and the look on my body. It's so strange to have something that "looks fine" but feels ungainly and ill fitting after working so long on things. Thankfully, I used an old stash fabric that I'm okay with as a give away. It's an aqua plaid seersucker, and for whatever reasons I bought more than 5 yards. Probably an end cut with that being a sale piece. 

I will use this fabric again for a shirt as I really like the fabric and it's perfect for Las Cruces summer wear. 

We've finally got a good year for monsoons, and we've had a good bit of rain here. Thankfully in our neighborhood not much flooding. We do have some "ponds" in the lower lying parts of our yard, but they have been soaking into the drought parched ground usually fairly quickly. And several towns nearby including Ruidoso, Vado, and near NMSU in southern Las Cruces all had flooding. 

This is only the second year since I moved here in 2017 that we have had the "normal monsoon season." The national weather service notes the official monsoon season runs June 15 to September 30. When Dale got here, he was told they generally start on the 4th of July ruining barbecue party plans and running through the summer. Since 2000, Las Cruces has experienced significant drought conditions. It's nice that the atmosphere is feeding our soil again this year. 

I am working through Alexandra Morgan's Basic Bodice class. I purchased it in 2021, and never got around to working through it. With the changes of a 78 1/2 year old body, it's time to get it set so I can actually make garments that fit again. Due to medications and age, I am having some bone loss and now have the beginnings of a dowagers hump in addition to the narrow, forward, sloping shoulders and large arms. In addition, I'm SLOWLY losing weight so I want to get closer to a good fit and know what I need to do for my personal fitting. The front looks close, but the back measurements were not accurate, so I have remeasured and am in the process of muslin #2 with hopefully more accurate measurements. We'll see today how that goes. 

The intention for today is to get the muslin pressed, with pictures taken and have a good look at fit. I do think there are still some issues with the back, but that's going to have to be a point by point alteration. We'll see.

Hope your sewing is satisfying! More later.