Thursday 20 November 2008

More SWAP ideas

I'm now thinking raincoat, warm, waterproof & wind proof! The jacket I have is OK but not waterproof anymore - unless a friend in the local mountain rescue can get hold of some re waterproofing stuff for me! So a smarter coat would be a good investment, I don't see the family splurging on the fancy jacket I have my eye on so I may as well have a go at making one. The style is a problem - I can't decide. I'm thinking raglan sleeve with a cape over. Taped seams etc. I really need water repellent not showerproof. Probably underlined with flannelette or light fleece for warmth & lined with something good quality, acetate, Bemburg or whatever. Just have to fix on a style that will not be too difficult to draft & then make up. I haven't found a pattern for anything that screams make me. Or a colour I want yet.
Pants will be 2 pairs of jeans, a pair of jeans style trousers, & a smart pair. Tops, I've made a start I've got a black suede look shell I made last week to go under a suede look jacket so thats one top done, just another five to go! I have some fabulous plum satin microfibre that I fancy making an Issy Miyake jacket out of & using as a blouse. Off to press the plum microfibre now it's laundered.

Saturday 8 November 2008

Back to the SWAP

Well I think I've kind of formulated a plan. Sort of. If you see what I mean. I have a party to go to next week & the usual nothing to wear problem came up. Well I do have a couple of things but not shoes that will be comfy for a whole evening so it has to be trousers for which I do have comfy shoes, which means I need to take in the existing pair of black trousers to fit my slightly slimmer self! So black trousers & what? I have a frilly white blouse which would do but not a jacket that I could wear over it. So I've ended up with some black sueded fabric from the stash & some cheap chinese dragon red brocade fabric from Boyes & a Butterick pattern which I quite like, although next time I'll draft one in PMB 4 & add the pattern details. The lapels are in the red & I've lined the jacket with red lining fabric. It is too close fitting to put much underneath so no white frilly blouse, I'm going to draft something & use the rest of the red brocade for a close fit top. Maybe a waistcoat (vest). Then I really must get the trousers altered.
Any how the SWAP - I realised that I like a lot of the jackets I have patterns for but the swap is for 1 jacket only that goes with the rest of the garments made so this new black / red jacket is limiting as far as colours & maybe style goes so I can't use it, but it will fit with a stage 2 or 3 plan. On the other hand it is close enough fitting to maybe, be classed as a top? Then if I made an outer jacket / coat in something warm & waterproof I will have the jacket requirement sorted & then some of the jacket patterns that are calliing me may also fit as tops. Stretching it a bit? I think so! Yes pushing the boundaries here so rethinking - I do wear some shirts as layers over tees, both long & short sleeve, during the winter so if I find suitable style ideas in patterns & other pictures I could satisfy my craving for jackety tops that I can wear alone or over tees. couldn't I?
I've also dug out a glove pattern that I could use some of this black suede'y' fabric for. Well I'll need some sewing to do while I look after Mum immediately after her hip replacement. Actually I think I'll take some other projects as well, I hate to just sit & twiddle my thumbs & cope with the type of conversations Mum is prone to having with me at the moment. I need distractions. Not being horrible, just realisitic. We can't take on the problems of the world & feel guilty for not doing so. Well I can't & I wish Mum would stop feeling this way, it only gives her more anxiety attacks & I see them as self inflicted when she's this way out. I love my Mum dearly & thank God she has all her faculties but it is hard to cope with her when she's this way out. There moan over.

Monday 3 November 2008

A thought.......

I have just been reading the latest poat on Simple,Green, Frugal Co-op blog & it makes perfect sense. To achieve more we need to plan better & follow that plan accordingly & everything slots into place.
It also reminded me that we need to remember to ensure we have time with our kids. Quality time. Now there's a couple of words for you. Quality time. What is it? In my book that means being there for the kids when they need you. Not when you can fit them in. I found my daughter needed me more as she became a teenager. On her terms but nevertheless I needed to be around when she needed me. I was lucky in a way. I had Joe when she was 10, having worked full time up to then from her being 18 months old. And yes I did miss out on so much up til then but finding myself a single parent felt I had to earn, not rely on benefits. So having Joe & discovering that there was no way we could afford childcare, the only other option was staying home. So I did. For five years before the lure of adult company & some much needed cash got the better of me. I have no regrets. I was around for all the trials & tribulations of a girl becoming a teenager. That was also the hardest time I have spent as a parent. My beautiful daughter turned into the teen from hell & pushed me to the very limits of my whole being. Many times I just wanted to run away & end it all. Have nothing more to do with her & mean it. Our marriage suffered dreadfully. But on good days I was there for her & I think she appreciated that. I returned to part time work when she was 15 & Joe 5, & it helped my sanity no end. I wasn't through the worst yet but it helped. I did throw her out once after I could no longer take the shouting, screaming, spitting etc, but I took her back before the end of the day. It was so very hard, that time. We had social workers, police, parenting classes you name it we tried it. But the only thing that worked was just being there in the finish. At least that's what I think.
Now I have a very pleasant young woman who knows what I went through & knows that I will always be there for her. And she also knows from bitter experience that the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence. And from that experience she has grown emotionally. Long may she continue to blossom.

Saturday 1 November 2008

Indecision

Or no decisions on the SWAP front. I was going to make a top to try out a pattern but having drafted the pattern the fabric I was planning wasn't a big enough piece. So I thought it would make Joe some PJ pants so I drafted another pattern. Not enough for those either so I didn't sew anything! Still no confirmed thoughts on my plan. I think I'm just going to sew whatever I feel like at the time so long as it fits the swap criteria & me of course. Actually I was planning to sew bottoms after January but I think I might need some before then if I lose more inches.
I have just made an "Abba" style jumpsuit for a client that fit perfectly first time. The "Morticia" dress I just made myself came out way too big & where it did touch it was too tight! Should've checked the old measurements & the pattern first. Yes I've lost 12lbs, can't shift any more at the moment but there's an inch missing from the hips & 1.5" missing from the waist. Woohoo.
So I missed trick or treating with Joe, he didn't want me there anyway, but I like dressiing up & going out with the kids. Instead I stayed home & greeted lots of ugly monsters & a few very pretty tiny witches.