I REALLY WASN'T GOING TO DO THIS

but it was like I was back in junior high andjust because everyone else had one I wanted one too. In junior high it was a tent dress and a bench coat, today it is a maxi dress. I don't think I'll get much wear out of a maxi dress but I loved Erica's and so I decided I'd just throw caution to the wind and live large. And the best part, I did it all for $6.00 and a few hours! I found this cute lycra knit at Joann's for $3.00 a yard and used super easy McCalls pattern 5039. I envision wearing my maxi dress at home for casual dinners on the patio or when we go to a friend's. And it will be nice to just slip on at the end of the day when I want something comfortable but I'm not ready for my pajamas. I made it by a size 12 and the only alteration was to lengthen the bodice 1 1/2".

AUGUST 25, 1979

at 7:00 in the evening I married the man I always dreamed about. A kind and gentle man, a man who would cherish me, pamper me, love me, treat me with respect, praise me, protect me, encourage me, provide for me, challenge me, understand me, excite me, die for me, teach me, laugh at me, listen to me, be proud of me.... me, me, me. The list goes on. This dear sweet man I married does all this and more. He's made me a better person, through his selfless ways he has shown me what it really means to love someone. I pray God gives me another 30 years with my sweetheart so I can give back to him just a little of the joy he has given me.

THE LAST OF SUMMER

Our garden is a sad reminder that the last days of summer are here. We are still getting a few squash and some tomatoes and the peppers are turning red but the vines are staring to die and I know it won't be long until I come home with an empty basket. This city girl is proud of our well stocked freezer since this is only my second year for a garden. Next year I hope to add a few more things to the mix and go totally organic. The only thing I don't like about the garden is that it shows no respect for my schedule - if I'm busy or traveling it still grows! And when it grows there is food that will spoil if I don't do something with it, Right Then! I don't know why I didn't grasp that concept sooner.

The last days of summer also mean it's time to wind up summer sewing and make a few transitional items. This dress, Vogue 8555, is the last garment I'll make for warm weather. It is an easy feminine dress that suits my style and I will definitely use the pattern again. The fabric is a loosely woven cotton rayon blend so it was necessary to underline the bodice and midriff inset for stability. I eliminated the side pockets, shortened the skirt 2 inches and added 3/4" to the bodice lenghth over the bust area to adjust for a full and low bust. I cut a size 12 except at the shoulder and there I cut a size 8. I needed the length over the bust but not from the shoulder to the bustline. I have a wonderful gray and coral floral that I got at Textile Fabrics last month in Nashville that would be perfect in this style but...
I also have piles yes, piles of fabric in the floor of my sewing room begging me to bring them to life. I have decisions to make.

POCKET RESTYLE

My jeans are almost finished- all I have to do is sew on the pockets. When I pinned the original pocket on the jeans to determine the placement I realized how big the pockets were. So I started looking at my other jeans and saw that those pockets were a good inch shorter and instead of being a rectangle they tapered 1/2 inch in on each side. So I decided to remake them using the pockets of the ready made jeans as a quide. This was a good reminder to be more observant of garment details and save myself a little time by not remaking things.

JEANS with SANDRA BETZINA

Last month I had an opprtunity to take a jeans/pants class with Sandra Betzina. At first I was undecided as to wheather or not it would be to my advantage since I had spent several months working to make a pants sloper that I was pleased with. I wasn't sure I wanted to invest the time or money involved to make a pair of jeans that might never be to my satisfaction. But in the end I decided to give it try.

One great thing about the class was that Sandra had her jeans and pants made in every size so that the students could try them on. She measured and fitted each one of us and then showed us the necessary alterations. The major adjustment she had me to make was to add 1" to the crotch depth. In all my many years of sewing I have never found it necessary to add to this measurement! But hey, she's the expert so I did as I was told. I also tapered in the back yolk at the center back and tapered from the side seams to the center back taking off 3/8 of an inch. These are adjustments I've always made.

I prefer to make my test garments in fashion fabric so they are wearable and I don't usually find that muslin will duplicate many of the same qualities of the fabric, consequently there are still adjustments to be made to the final garment. So why not just make it fabric similar to the final garment to begin with. So for my jeans I used denim that I purchased from Fabric.com. The class was from 8am to 3pm and it was about 11 before I could actually start sewing. I don't know about anyone else but for me that is not alot of time to make jeans so after I constructed the pockets I just machine basted everything else together for a fitting. I was not happy with the fit but Sandra thought it was great. The waist was half way between my waist and bust-- this is not generally the way I wear my jeans so I left the class rather disappointed.

I felt there was potential and I didn't want to give up so I took the jeans apart and
recut the back piece and cut a new fronts, thankfully I had lots of fabric. I took out the 1" Sandra had me add to the crotch and magic happened! All that remains to be done is sewing on the pockets and hemming. I am so excited and can't wait to get them finished and take a picture! So in the end I made only a small adjustment that I would have made anyway and I have perfect fitting jeans.

SUMMER - The Beginning or the End

Today Grace started back to school so my 10 wonderful weeks of babysitting have come to an end. I already miss the little darling and actually considered going to school with her but thought better of the idea. First, I would be hard to explain to the other kids and even though she is only 6 I have learned that when her friends are around I drop to the "B list." So I took a look around my house at all the things that need to be done and checked my many lists of all the things I want to do and made a plan.

After the laundry and ironing clothes I haven't worn since June I moved to the kitchen and cleaned and reorganized the fridge and the pantry. Next up the pickles. One little vine that Grace planted has produced enough cucumbers for 8 quarts of pickles. I've never made pickles before so I'm not sure but I think this is alot of pickles. I have jars sitting all over my kitchen - there are jars that have to be shaken daily, oh so exhausting, and jars of pickles that are waiting to be sliced, sugared and shaken.

Then on to my next project, ME! You might think I would be just too tired but NO! It may have taken many years but I have learned to practice the art of living my life rather than just maintaining it. First up was a trip to my favorite second-hand book store and a stop at Borders with a 40% off coupon resulting in 7 new reads. Although I have been reading alot this summer I am excited about reading something other than Pinkalicious and Fancy Nancy! At Borders I picked up Lisa See's Shanghai Girls (I loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan). Two of the books I got at the used bookstore are Raising Lambs Among Wolves, about your children and spiritual warfare and Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. I still can't get enough of Russia. And a wonderful find there was the Bobbsey Twins! Oh my gosh! I had forgotten all about Bert, Nan, Freddie and Flossie and I am so excited that they are still around! It makes me wonder about The Boxcar Children.

And it seems I never go to town without a stop at the infamous Joann's. This time it was for patterns, I mean they are on sale so it just makes sense to buy them, right?and other notions to either complete existing projects or start new ones.

It is now 2pm and all I have to do is shut up and go play!

NEVER A SECOND LOOK

That's right. Had it not been for Erica B. I never would have looked twice at Simplicity 2756 but when I saw her version I knew I had to have it. For me, actually seeing a garment made and on a real body is a big incentive for reading sewing blogs. This fabric has been in my fabric closet for many years. It is a cotton blend of some kind. It is soft and loosely woven with a nice drape. It is like an eyelet except that there is a sheer weave inside the flowers. I like the casual ease of this blouse and what I can I say except that I'm a girl that likes a belt. This one belonged to my mother, is at least 20 years old but I think it has a modern feel. So thank you Erica for your inspiration and if you don't mind I'd like to call this my Erica blouse.

SEWING FOR OTHERS

There are many ways I enjoy spending my free time, reading, hiking, playing with Grace, scrapbooking but nothing satisfies my creative spirit like sewing. The problem was that I didn't need a single thing. I would make some wonderful new item and it would hang in my closet with all the rest of my seldom worn creations. One day a friend was talking about needing to go through her fabric stash. I have no idea why but I blurted out that I would take anything she had that was suitable for childrens clothes AND that I would make clothes for the children in a small inner city church in the Nashville area. But I'm so glad that I did because I can honestly say that I don't know when I have enjoyed a sewing project more than these little clothes made from donated fabric. It feels so good to do something for someone else and I'm thinking I may have just found the perfect way to use my talents to serve others. I'll be back in Nashville in December and plan to have lots more made by then.