Whatnot

Lots to share:

1. I never finished my Laurel. I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't get it done in time to enter into the contest like I had planned. I still intend to finish it, but that pesky time deficit (as in, I don't ever have enough time to do anything I want to do) keeps getting in my way. Some stuff came up. I am trying to balance being kind to myself about things like this with my desire to get off my butt and get something done already.

2. Finished the book Calling Me Home. It was good, if not entirely weighty (Is that a word?). It made me tear up a bit at the end. Calling Me Home is more than "chick-lit" but not necessarily profound. Does that make any sense?



 

 

 

 

 

3. Started The Baker's Daughter. I got it on my Kindle App from the library for free. Can I tell you how much I love the public library?  I love it. A lot.



 

 

 

4. I went to CRAFT WEEKEND!!! It was so much fun. I am still trying to recover from it. I  have a lot to share--in good time. There's almost too much goodness to process. I came away from the weekend inspired to finish what I start (I'm the queen of half-finished projects. See #1 from this post as an example) and inspired to be more creative in the everyday, especially with clothing and jewelry choices. I will be sharing lots of photos later, but for now here's one of the projects we did. Cute, no?

 

 

 

 

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Laurel Update

I promised I would post a picture of my "wearable" muslin version of the Laurel.

It's not so wearable. The fabric is super thin so I didn't bother with the finishing. Nothing in my stash to line it with. Not even worth wasting a zipper on. But, I've got the fit just about right. Back darts are getting elongated and a little bigger and I think I'm done.

But, as promised, here is a terrible self portrait of me in the practice version.
It's late. I'm tired. And scary!

Disco Ball Shoes!

 But see? It at least resembles a dress.

This is a sneak peak of the fabric I'm going to use. A bold floral won out.  It's much brighter in person.

And because I couldn't resist the cuteness!
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The Great British Sewing Bee

Really quick--if you have some free time and like to sew--watch this show! It's great. My favorite part is how civilized and nice they all are. No drama here. I'm sure if they were to Americanize this, there would be some crazy personalities and histrionics involved.

Real life late

These shoes are totally not court appropriate. They were my comfy "walk to work" shoes today. I have to walk about 5 blocks from the parking garage to my office. Some days the walk is ok, enjoyable even, and others it's terrible. I have to pay $50 a month to park there. Sigh.

I change into my heels once I get to the office (usually--sometimes the comfy shoes stay on all day if I don't have to see anyone).

The reason I'm sharing them is because I am way behind in my self-imposed Laurel dress timeline.
Can you see those stacks of files on my desk?  I have a full-time job. And a family. And a house. And...you get the picture. My daytime work ends at 5PM. Then it's a race to daycare and my evening work begins at 6PM. And by evening work I mean dinner, clean-up, dog feeding and walking, bottle washing, bottle preparing, lunch packing, bedtime...the list goes on. By the time all of that is done it's usually somewhere around 8:30 or 9 PM. And I'm TIRED! It doesn't leave much room for crafty pursuits most nights. I like to leave the weekends for playing with Nick and spending time with Ben, Grace and Joe if we can. When do I fit in "me" time?

Back to the point. My Laurel muslin is way too big. I was embarrassed to even take a photo. I'm going to re-trace a smaller size and make the back darts bigger. The armholes also need a small adjustment. Next up is a wearable muslin out of some fabric I already  have in my stash. I've still got fabric paralysis. Too many options. I promise I'll show the wearable muslin. Whipping that up should go a little more quickly now that I've tried my hand at the darts in the pattern. My hope is that it will be good enough to throw in the Flickr pool.

Balance is tough to come by. I'm working on it.

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Laurel Inspiration

Some ideas to get myself started on this Laurel pattern.

Maybe a bold floral for spring?


Loft Bold Print Dress


 

How about a distinctive, bright stripe?

Loft Corded Dobby Stripe

Some dyed lace or eyelet?

Loft Lace Overlay Shift Skirt

Nautical-ish stripes, maybe?

J. Crew Dree Dress

So many options with this great pattern. What to choose?
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Laurel Sew Along Contest!

I'm trying to fit in a little more sewing for me. Actually, I'm trying to fit in a little more sewing period, so I have decided to participate in another sew-along like I did with the Anna Tunic and Made By Rae's spring top sew along.

This time, it's a specific pattern that everyone who participates will be making.

The Laurel Dress

It's a simple (ha!) shift dress with an invisible zipper and darts! Yikes. I've done an invisible zipper once before in a skirt, but that was in a class where I had someone there to show me how. Hopefully You Tube videos will be able to help me out if I get stuck. I've never done darts before, but the pattern instructions are pretty clear on that. I think a sleeveless version might be in order here.

The sew-along has some amazing prizes too! You can check out all the details here: The Laurel Sewing Contest

I have to carefully map out my steps and give myself some mini deadlines to get it done in time.

By April 1:

• Print the pattern and put it together
• Trace my size
• Make a muslin (I've never done this before, but I'd like to get the fit right on this one)
• Select my fabric (soooo many possibilities, there's some fabric paralysis going on right now)

By April 5:

• Buy invisible zipper
• Cut pieces out of my good fabric

By April 12:

• Make bias tape 
• Begin constriction

By April 19:

• Finish construction
• Try it on and take photos
• Enter it in the contest :) 

This schedule has a lot of leeway in it for good reason. There is never enough time to do much on weekday evenings. I should be back before Friday with some ideas and inspiration for my dress. 

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Mottos

I love this simple framed sentiment:

It was on the Joss & Main site, but sold out before I could grab it. And I can re-create this myself (add it to my list of undone projects). It's pretty much a motto for me--a reminder to surround myself with people who I love and support me and that I can support in return. Life is too short to waste time and energy on negative influences. And I generally think that doing what makes you happy without worrying too much about what others think is freeing. So get out there and do whatever it is that floats your boat.

I read a really great quote this morning from Graham Hill, a millionaire who sold his tech business for lots of $$ in the '90s. He's since downsized from a lavishly excessive lifestyle to living in a 450 square foot apartment. He said, "I think life is about experiences and about connections and about relationships, and I think you want to maximize your time focused on that and minimize your time focused on acquiring more stuff and dealing with it." (article here)

Although it's easy to say that when you have millions in the bank and you're not worrying about retirement or paying for your child's college education. Sometimes I wonder if that's why we get so hung up on material possessions--they seem like security. Anyway, it's a good reminder to be happy with what I have. Happiness is a choice.
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