Thursday, January 15, 2009

I took a mental health day

When I woke up this morning it was cold and gray and flurrying outsisde, and I took about 3 seconds to think before I rolled over in the bed. It's been crazy busy all week at the office but by yesterday afternoon I was able to see my desk, and I decided I did not need to see it again today.

What I needed was to spend some time in the workroom, getting the kinks out of the fit on Mario's tshirt, and finishing a few other projects I had started.

I also spent some time in the spare room with Vlad, who's recovering nicely from his sore feet, and does not know that a further small surgery is looming in his future. If he's going to be indoors, he's got to be fixed, whether he likes it or not. He's making my other cats crazy - and they're crazy enough without help.

There's no way of saying how long he's going to live, but if it's anything more than a few weeks, then they have to go. He'll forgive me, he's getting canned food twice a day to fatten him up.

Back to the tshirt. Thanks to everyone, here and on Patternreview, who suggested that a sloping shoulder adjustment might be the way to go in getting Mario's shirt to fit. I put the original tshirt on him and stuck shoulder pads in it to see if it made any improvement in the shoulder wrinkles. Totally confused the poor guy - I'm not sure what he thought I was making for him at that point - but it definitely decreased the wrinkling.

Today I cut out another tshirt in light gray cotton jersey that I had sitting in stash. I sloped the shoulder down by about an inch, and dropped the armhole accordingly. Other than that, I made no changes, but there's a huge difference in the way the shirt fits him.

Getting it right should always be so easy.

Other than that, I finished KwikSew 3533, which I started last week. I'm pretty much over the Duro dress thing, but I solved that by eliminating the back ties, adding a waistband in the back and tapering the sides so that it was more fitted - but still loose enough for me to pull over my head.

I'm not over the moon about it, but I think it's one of those dresses that I have to wear a few times to really warm up to. I managed to get a tshirt out of the leftovers - my favorite KS 3338 TNT top - and I'm actually way happier about that.

There's been a lot of conversation on PR and on the blogs lately about stash, how we feel about our stashes, and the merits - or lack thereof - to the whole concept of stashbusting.

I love my stash. It makes me happy. It inspires me when I am not. On the other hand, there's a ridiculous amount of fabric in the workroom. I have a dedicated space, with shelves and cabinets and tubs, and I still have fabric piled on the table and the floor.

I signed myself up for PR's stash contest, not to randomly try to sew as much stash as possible in a short time, but to sew up as much stash as possible in a short time in an organized fashion, making things that I need. I went through the closet and the drawers first and took note of what was needed, and I'm going to knock out a few more quick knit tops (which I always need) and some easy dresses, and a few more tshirts for Mario if I feel like it.

This is a two-fer, if not possibly a three-fer: make stuff I need, get more practice with the coverstitch, and decrease the load on my shelves, at least by a little.

Back to work tomorrow . . .

9 comments:

-E said...

oooo Karen, I adore that dress :)

Daisy said...

I think that dress is fabulous also. On a totally unrelated note, based on your posts about Jomar's, I would like to go to one of their stores. One of the reasons is that I need to make 14 gowns for a high school production of "Anything Goes." Which location which you suggest? Thanks for your input.

Elaray said...

I can imagine old Vlad in the spare room, chuckling over the way he has all the females excited and fighting over him - even in his current state! He's probably remembering all his other conquests and has many stories to tell.
Gotta love 'im!

Gretchen the Household Deity said...

I love the dress! I am sure it will grow on you because it's so cute. Thanks for illustrating a sloping shoulder adjustment--believe it or not I actually didn't know what one looked like!

luckylibbet said...

The t shirt looks so much better! And your approach to stash is rational - but for many people it isn't. Good luck with the contest!

Kitty Couture said...

Lucky Mario!!

And, I loooove that dress; I know you look amazing in it. This is the perfect colourway for you!

Barbara at Cat Fur Studio said...

The dress is fabulous -- you are right in that you will probably 'warm up' to it later. Mario's t-shirt looks good, and I'm glad to hear that Vlad is recovering. How sweet that you're going to give him a comfy retirement.

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

First - I need to see the tee too! *LOL*

Second - great t-shirt on Mario and I'm glad it was an easy fix.

Third - you may be tired of the duro dress silhouette but I love the color choices you've made for this one!

and a mental health day is always good!!!

Kat said...

Gosh, I love that dress! On the shirt, it's looking good. You know what I would try at this point? That little back armhole fold? Measure it if you pinched it out and transfer a little bit of that excess to the shoulder and neck. That can be eased in to those areas, then maybe that wrinkle would be less pronounced. I'm thinking it's something with the curvature of the upper back.