I’m just finishing up Vogue 1090 – A Michael Kors design that I really like.  I do think he is my ultimate fave designer, and even his perfume is my fragrance de choice.

The quandry today is what colour zipper to use.  The dress is navy and white, with the white being the contrast.  I have 4 choices- navy -centre application, white centre app, navy – invisible or white invisible.  I do suppose there is a fifth choice- a chunky outside applied zipper..

They were supposed to audition for a spot today, but we have been on the go all day, and it doesn’t look promising for tonight either.  My self imposed deadline is Wednesday night so that I can wear it in Philly, and I am fairly confident that will be possible.  I think I am leaning towards a white invisible- any thoughts from you?

On the breaking news front…

I felt very glamourous last night- we had a 50th birthday party for myself and MyMike with so many friends and family.  Our daughters surprised me by putting on a runway show for everyone, complete with a red carpet runway!  They modeled showed off items I have made over the last 30 some odd years!  How fun.  Our chairs flanked the runway just like in a real fashion show, and we had music, commentary and even paparazzi!  The girls went to so much work to make it a special and memorable evening- I love you girls!

I had an hour or two To Myself  last Saturday  .  A very important thing that is- time to spend on what one wants to do!  As opposed to today when I promised MyMike that I would fumigate organize  our bedroom and master bath. Why is it seeming to take all day?

We celebrated a dear friends birthday last week and I thought a little gift would be in order.  She and her husband love to travel and are heading off to Africa next month.  Meanies!  In honour of that, I decided that she needs a few toiletry cases. 

I pulled out a little pattern from Thisandthatpatterns that I stole from my mom!   She picked it up at a sewing expo ’cause Mme Micaela loved it.  I find the size a bit too small to be useful for cosmetics, as it is too short for mascara.  Seeing that  mascara is the number one make up item stolen from my bathroom whenever the girls are home, I think that it is ultra important that a makeup case needs to be big enough to hold one!  And hide one!  It is also too short for holding pens/pencils, but it would be good for hanging on to various electronic cords, or jewellery.  I am having a heck of  a time finding the pattern online!   When I did find it, I realized that it does not have finished dimensions for it or any of the other patterns that the company makes. I guess that isn’t much of a problem as the patterns are not available on her website, but I still think it would be a good idea to add a bit of a description to a product line. You need to scroll down the page that the above link sends you to, and the pattern is Abby’s Treasure Box. 

That, 3 zippers,  a dollar store shower curtain for the leakproof lining , a bit of batting and some homedec remnants was all I needed to make 3 various sized bags.

The pattern calls for using various quilting fabrics, and the finished sample was what caught Mic’s eye. It is really cute that way, but you could also  omit the quilted look by using strips of fabric instead of piecing.  The pattern is actually only for the small bag, but I graded up, and omitted the piecing for the 2 larger ones.  All it took was a bit of grade school  high school math to figure out dimensions.  You know they say that using your brain keeps you young! 

Here they are prior to being wrapped.  My friend loved them!  At least the bags will get to Africa! 

And, of course the most important photo of the day…Our first grandchild Hailey Rhea Thom, was born yesterday (Jan 23, 2010) at 7:10 pm weighing in at 7 pounds 15 ounces.  It was so thrilling not knowing if we would be welcoming a girl or boy, and I am so excited to be sewing pink again!  I do not promise not to bore you with her exceptional beauty and intelligence in the next while!  So be prepared!

This pattern was actually purchased for Miss Lauren, but I thought it would make a great “I have a wedding to go to and I don’t want to look 3 months pregnant even though I am dress” for Katelyn.  It took a bit of tweaking, as you will see from the review, but I loved the way it turned out, and the way it looked on Mme Kate.

Vogue 1102

Pattern Description: From the envelope – “below mid-knee dress has close-fitting, self lined bodice, sleeveless.  Back ties hold the bodice in place.  Flared skirt, raised waistline and back zipper.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? What’s not to like. A simple front, with a slight empire bodice and a fairly low back with a great bow. No gathering or other embellishments.

Fabric Used: Kate chose a yellow batiky voile.  Just a Fabricland fabric.  My bad, I should have lined it, but I had other things on my mind at the same time, and didn’t even think of it. She ended up wearing a slip.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made : The pattern calls for a self lined bodice but I lined it using a plain white batiste as I was afraid of show through. The armholes were too tight, so I had to redraft those. I used a size 8 which is Kate’s size in Vogue, but she was 3 months pregnant, so I suspect that her sizing may have changed more in the bust than I thought.  We both thought that the front neckline was too high so  I scooped it down  3/4 of an inch. That way it sits below her collarbone, not rubbing on it.    I didn’t need to make any maternity alterations as she had only the tiniest of baby bumps at the time.  I mentioned before that the skirt should have been lined.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?  I think it would look smashing in a black silk. Not on me, but on someone decades younger.

Conclusion: A great dress ‘em up dress, simple to construct and easy to wear.

H

Kate and her sister were the soloists at the ceremony.  They did a beautiful job!

And the requisite “please pose like the pattern envelope” pose! 

I am finally gathering photo’s from Micaela and Kent’s wedding.  I believe reviews are owed on-

Mic’s dress
My dress
Katelyn’s dress
the Flowergirls dress
and some reception shots are definitely necessary!

For today, I just want to share with you two photos of Katelyn.  The first is a scan of a reprint, so the quality will be a bit comprised.  It was taken in our wheat field when she was about 3(?)  wearing a yellow outfit.  The second is of Kate again, this time at 24, again in a wheat field, in a yellow dress!  The more things change, the more things stay the same.  The dress, by the way, is Vogue 1102.  Review to come. Double promise, spit in my eye promise.  I am on the lookout for a back view photo of the dress in order to complete it!   I am really afraid that one does not exist, in which case I will have to borrow the dress and take one!

Kate at 3? 4?

Kate age 24

and how about a quick look at the reception details…made by mom-

Have you ever read a book that hit you so hard, it almost became a part of you?  You read it, laugh, cry, question..then you read it again and again, recommend it to others, force your bookclub to read it,  write in the margins….
I have such a book in my life.

I fell in love with The Time Traveler’s Wife when it first came out  in 2003 and have read it at least once a year since.  I don’t know what draws me to it.  Perhaps the idea that love can cross time, space , and even thought.  It is an interesting mix between science fiction and romance, delves into love and loss, and, for the author, served as a metaphor for her own failed romances.  It is nostalgic, and a bit wistful.  You almost need a playbook to figure out at what point in their lives each  character is in each chapter.
It comes out in movie form next week.  I won’t be able to stand in line on opening night.  Something about a wedding happening!  Sunday night though, I will be sitting in my seat at Silver City, fearful that the movie- like most movies that I see after reading the book- will not hold a candle to the movie version of the book that plays in my mind.

Some quotes from the book

“Don’t you think it’s better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose it, than to be just okay for your whole life?”

“We laugh and laugh, and nothing can ever be sad, no one can be lost, or dead, or far away: right now we are here, and nothing can mar our perfection, or steal the joy of this perfect moment.”

“But you know: you know that if I could have stayed, if I could have gone on, that I would have clutched every second: whatever it was, this death, you know that it came and took me, like a child carried away by goblins.”

What follows is digression taken to the nth degree….

That last quote reminds me so much of a “death memorial” that I have had on my fridge for at least 5 years. 

I never read memorials.  Well, almost never, apparently!  This one struck me as written by someone in love for all of her life.  I happened to see it one day, and cut it out.  The next year I saw it again- eerie no?   Remember, I don’t read memorials.  I guess someone wanted me to see it and keep it.  I don’t know who the author(?) submitter(?) is.  It was signed “lovingly and respectfully Madeline“  It is too long to copy here, but my favourite line is..

“You were the treasure in my heart, you were the one who always stood beside me, so unaware I foolishly believed that you would always be there, then there came a day when I closed my eyes and you slipped away… t

I don’t see any regret in it,  just love, and longing to feel the past once again.      I like to think I will feel like that someday- holding the love that I have in my heart with a desire to remember and relive the joy of the past.

I don’t know if the movie will meet my expectations.  Somehow I expect it won’t give me that thrill I get when I reread the book and and  the shiver of sharing the love that  that little piece of paper on my fridge gives me.    I’ll be sure to let you know though. 

So, Sunday night at the movies- I know Erica, Kate, Leah and Lauren are excited to come along.  If you are in too, let me know- the more the merrier!

How about you?  Are you looking forward to “The Time Traveler’s Wife”?  Are you usually pleased or disappointed with movies made from books you have read? 

There seems to be a superfluous amount of accoynms floating around these days.  PR (Project Runway OR Pattern Review), ANTM, SYTYCD to name but a few sewing and fashion related ones.  ( to me- that last one is allll about fashion as well as dance!)   May I introduce to you another one?!

A T W

OR

After The Wedding.

As in

After The Wedding I am going to finish those 2 jackets.
After The Wedding I will run or bike every day (interestingly enough, I first typed “rum”! Do I need some perhaps!
After The Wedding  I will get the new golf shirts done
After The Wedding  we can shingle the roof
After The Wedding I will sew some maternity clothes for Kate
After The Wedding I will be  a more faithful blogger
After The Wedding I will sit on the front porch and read
After The Wedding I will take Sundays off for family and friends
After The Wedding I will I will I will IwillIwillIwill

It’s funny.  It is not like this wedding is sucking my life away.  I do a little bit of work every day- make pew bows, hem a dress, make some direction signs,  do random gluing and pasting, writing a weddingday newsletter, make a hair/nail appointment.  I do work full time of course.  The bride daughter is laid back- aside from our ongoing Facebook saga entitled (randomly)  “chandeliers“, she has made no demands on my skill or time that I have not offered freely.  I don’t want to put any pressure on Micaela to think that this is anything but my own little dilemma.  I want her and Kentie Boy to have a glorious, stress free start to their exciting married adventures.

So why the feeling of aaauugghh?  I have no idea!  I just feel as though my life is “on hold” until the wedding is over.  Stressed?  no not really, although some people might tell you differently!  It isn’t even my day!  For goodness sake, if I was a wedding planner *hey wait- that is what I have been for the past 2 years/3 weddings!*- then this would be my normal life!   

The wedding gown is this weekends work- final fitting, agonizing and last minute alterations will take the place of attending a drag race on Sat and a rodeo on Sunday. 

Some photos for you to get an idea of life in my disarray… not that I mind disarray!

Sewing complete or near complete

Decorating mishmash! 

Sooonn to be transferred to the beautiful yard that is my parent’s farm!  The tent will seat the 180 guests, have an abundance of flowers hanging from the ceiling, candles in the trees and croquet and bocce ball on the lawn We would love to have the wedding here at home, but livestock + food = not so pretty an atmosphere!

I really do love all of the planning, organizing and sewing related to weddings and am looking forward to what looks to be a glorous day! 

Boy I bet you are so tired of my years of wedding related posts!  Soon, back to regularly scheduled progamming.

Man Oh Man, is that pile of wanna-do’s  getting   precariously and dangerously high!  I can’t see over the top, and I even forget some things that are on the bottom.  Would you all pretty please stop making so many incredible articles of clothing?!!

Enough about you now, and back to me! (You know that I’m not quite that narcissistic in real life don’t you?)   It’s just that I have a really special  project set that is bursting to be sewn!  After the wedding.  After some “me” sewing.  You know what I mean!

A hint…

I have been sorting through my ridiculously large collection of vintage patterns, and came up with a few that will  will give you an idea of what I am talking about.

Here is the first one. Cute no?!

and the second…

And a couple more…

 Still baffled?  Then let me tell you a story.

About a month ago, our daughter Katelyn  and her husband of a year and a half,  had us over for brunch.  During the course of the meal, I asked Kate about the status of her sewing machine, one she had “inherited”  from my mom who finally broke down and bought a new one. (Kate knows me VERY well, and knew that I would ask about the machine) She said that she hadn’t much time to use it, but did I want to see the patterns that she bought.  Of course I said yes, at the same time reminding her that she didn’t have to ever buy patterns, as I have over 500 of them!  She responded with “I know, but I wanted my own“.  Well, you can’t fault a girl for that!  She learns from the best you know!

When she handed me the patterns, I was confused.  Where I was expecting to see a couple of cute dress patterns, I was seeing patterns for babies! 

“Um, Kate- are you going to sew for Laura?”  I asked, as their good friends Matt and Laura had just announced their pregnancy the week before. 

“No, I’m going to sew for ME!” was the reply.

Knock me over with a feather- we’re going to be grandparents!   What thought went into how to tell me the wonderful, awesome news!  That makes it even so much more special.  It is so great as well that they will be sharing this part of their life adventure with such dear friends. 

An interesting side note.  Kate’s friend Laura’s family and ours are good friends.  Camping together when the kids were little, going on ski vacations together, ski patrolling , racing and intructing together kind of friends.  What makes this “sharing a pregnancy ” thing so interesting is that Laura’s parents and MyMike and I were also pregnant at the same time – FIVE TIMES!! That’s right, we each have 5 children and every time that I was pregnant, so was Norma!  We didn’t know each other aback then, but would see each other as we lived – and still live- in the same community.  We would giggle inwardly in amusement and amazement, not realizing at the time how our lives would intertwine.   The kids all became very good friends, as are we “parents”  and we find it so great that the pregnancy sharing tradition is continuing!!  Now if only Lauren and Owen would get together…(kidding, I’m just kidding!)

 So tell me- what is your favourite baby related sewing project?  What is a must-sew?  What can’t I forget to do?  What should I not bother making at all?  How can I talk them into letting the baby call me “Connie” and NOT Grandma or Oma!