Weekend Review - Bras & Decks

All in all, it was a really good weekend.  Super productive, lots of fun, worked my ass off.  It's like Ontario finally decided winter is over and skipped right to summer - lots of sunshine, warmth, the city just greened up overnight.

Our back yard has a two tiered deck.  We've had it painted twice and while the fence and vertical boards still look good, the horizontal boards flake by the end of the summer it's painted.  It was looking pretty awful this spring.  Our patio furniture is plastic that was given as a wedding present and while it's still functional, the time outdoors has not been overly kind.  The past two years we've said we'd get a new set and reached August without buying anything. 

I should have taken pictures on the weekend, but this is all I seem to have of the back yard, me in a Renfrew (and self made rather pointy Elan bra) and snow covered.



2012 - from upper part of deck.
 

Winter view looking over the upper part down to the lower part.

Mr. Lina decided enough was enough.  He sent me a link to patio furniture on Thursday afternoon, as soon as I said it looked good he bought it.  New furniture means our deck needs some TLC.  He worked from home on Friday and he started on that too.  Many, many, MANY 4 letter word were in the texts and emails I got from him.  Paint stripper did nothing, the paint peeler was only effective where it was peeling, the neighbour saw him struggling and loaned him a sander.  Well he couldn't find the right weight of sandpaper, each visit to Home Depot making him more frustrated than the last... it went on and on.  It didn't matter what I said to try and keep this in perspective, it just made him angry.  Saturday he tackled it again and I was very happy to have plans that removed me from the house.

I went into Toronto to see Kristin at K-Line.  We had a lovely afternoon comparing bra supplies, bras (I bought a new one, Suzanna by Fantasie), I put on Alma and she pinned the back and made suggestions for me.  It was a really awesome day and time just flew by.  I did have a dyslexic moment where I wrote down her address inverted (i.e. I wrote 121 not 212) and the wrong number didn't have a house and I didn't write her cell number on the map I printed like I thought I did...  So I phoned home and Mr. Lina was particularly grumpy.  He looked up her email for me but I can't say I enjoyed that brief conversation.  I knew it wasn't ME that was the problem, but I had enough of being in the line of fire.

I went home to a husband who was full of aches from being hunched over a sander all day and too tired to be angry.  We watched the third period of the hockey game (Toronto vs Boston), an Italian zombie movie, I made dinner, rubbed a few sore muscles and we split a bottle of wine... Very calm evening and early to bed (well, for me at least).   I spent Sunday by his side sanding the deck and I got my old husband back.  He appreciated my assistance (and massages) and while it's not totally done, we're down to the last quarter, maybe less.  It's good to have him back.

So no sewing but a very busy weekend.  I'm eager to transfer those changes from the blouse to paper. 

Thanks for the comments and support in the last email.  I will post about my efforts to make better food choices as a way to be accountable to more than just myself.  I did relatively well this weekend.  Today is a Monday where I weight pretty much the same as Friday (possibly 0.2lbs less, I can't remember the decimal from Friday) and I call that a win.  Friday night we were playing board games with friends and chips came out.  I tried to hold off, but once I cracked and ate one...  it was hard to stop.  Not a wise choice there, but all my other food choices were good on Friday.  On Saturday, I split a margherita pizza with Kristin and a salad, dinner was fairly healthy but what I'm more pleased about was a reasonable portion size and stopping when I was full.  With all that sanding, we stopped for a quick lunch of tuna sandwiches and I was too tired to make dinner.  We ordered take out sushi and edamame (rather fishy day now that I think about it).  So, a win in a healthier choice than other delivery options.

And FET updates... nothing going on but more communication from the clinic as to what's going on next cycle.  I wrote exactly that last post, but I got another email with a reminder that I'll be taking Fragmen (injectable blood thinner), Prednisone and the endometrial scratch (a small cut in the lining of my uterus).  I am really far down this path and my treatment is pretty far from standard.  But... they still try to use "standard" forms for me to outline treatment.  It seems like it's more work for them to cross out all the things that don't apply (or answer my questions when I raise an eyebrow) and write in the extras than to just start from scratch.  It's good they are writing things out in a document, and it did say I'm taking a brand of progesterone I haven't used before, but missed:  Fragmen, intralipids, prednisone, Provera, Humira, endometrial scratch, Lupron-Depot (which I still have not had conformation on) and Femara (again, no confirmation yet).  Kind of defeats the purpose of putting it into a document, no?  Emails are filling in the blanks but now I have details in multiple spots.  This doesn't stress me out, but I think it makes the whole cycle seem more overwhelming.

In the next 10 days or so, I need to:

1. Get Mr. Lina in for his screening blood work.
2. Sign all the permission forms.
3. Blood work that the clinic can't do, pretty sure it's testing for lupus and other auto-immune, I did this two years ago maybe (and not covered by OHIP if I remember right). 
4. Take Humira #2 on Thursday.
5. Check with the pharmacy on all the other drugs that are being called in, particularly Humira #3 since they will need to order it in again and Provera/Lupron that will be for Day 21 (May 13).
6. Send off all the forms to the drug company to claim Humira.  I'd like my $1,730 back.
7. Pay for the FET.
8. Actually do some work I'm being paid for.  My interest is waning as I'm looking forward to the cycle ahead.

Shopaholic

There is an expression of those who can't do, teach.  Well, I think those who can't sew, shop.

I have been very aware that my output has been reduced to damn near nothing the past few months.  This makes shopping a little risky.  I don't need more stash because I'm not using what I have, but it can be inspiring to have new fabric.  And I still sew things in my mind.  Sadly, I think some of it leads to what I'd call "analysis paralysis" at work.  Looking at so many things at the same time can bring you to a full stop from indecision rather than pushing you to do more. 

I thought that I was showing restraint.  I haven't been in a Fabricland for ages.  I limited myself to a couple of pieces of fabric when my parents were away, a few things at the sewing meet up...  But in taking pictures, this doesn't look like much restraint.

When my parents go to Florida, I can't resist buying a few things and having it shipped to them.  It's just so cheap.  Let's start with Fabric.com purchases, two shirting fabrics

 I was thinking about blouses for these shirts.  Since adding a little weight and buying a new bra (and accepting an additional cup size) my summer shirt wardrobe has shrunk.  Things that I could kind of get away with are not going to work this summer.  My employers dress code is casual but not so casual that I can wear tshirts.  Say, either of these in an Alma with jeans would be perfect for the three days I'm there.  Add dress pants and it might work with my clients office.


Then I ordered more bra making supplies from www.sewsassy.com. I like their prices and with few exceptions the quality has been good. I stuck mostly to findings and elastics.





Two types of underwires and nylon coated metal slides.

 

Wide lace elastic & bra elastics, close up below.

 

Strap elastic at the top, then band elastic and channeling at the bottom.

So let's talk underwire for a minute.  In deciding that I need to go up a cup size (well, two but down a band size so in sister sizes I mean one) I need new underwires if I want to make bras.  Here are a close up of 3 underwires. 

To the left is a demi wire I bought a couple of years ago (also from Sew Sassy but I have no idea why I bought it).  The white wire is "flex lite" spring steel underwire and the third is wholesaler overstock underwire on the site, sold in packages of 6 pairs.  I wish I still had a crappy pair of underwire that they sell at Fabricland.  I think I have twist ties that are stronger than they are.  They may be fine for a young woman with a small cup size, or maybe a bathing suit, but I as K-Line has pointed out, weak wires can be the downfall of a full support bra.  On the Sew Sassy site, they picture the flex lite inside the flat metal wires because the shape/height is a little different.  Compared to the flex lite, the flat metal are 3/8" larger inside width but 1/2" smaller inside depth and 1/8" inch smaller in outside length.  Looking at the list of underwire sizes you start to understand how not all cup sizes are quite equal.  I really like the weight of those flat metal wires. 

Two bras that I thought fit well both died because of plastic component failure.  It's a sad reason to not have a functional bra.  I bought white nylon coated metal (which can be dyed although the odds of me doing that are slim) slides from Sew Sassy.  On the Toronto meet up, I found some awesome metal findings (front clasp in the top left corner is plastic but it seems a bit thicker than what I have).  Silver isn't as easy to find as you'd think and I like silver accessories.

 

I did buy two pieces of fabric.  I have a soft spot for wide lace elastic.  This is actually a pale purple colour, the green background is changing the colour a bit.  I spied it behind the cutting table, I tell you wide lace calls to me if it's over 5" wide.

 

 

And then craziness took over.  I've made a few bathing suits.  I think they represent a good ROI on my sewing time compared to full retail prices assuming you can get the material on sale.  I was given a little discount on this but it is probably the most expensive fabric I've ever purchased (on the plus side, you don't need much for a bathing suit).

It's wild.  I don't even like orange but the purple (kind of maroon-ish) and black swirls danced before my eyes blinding me.  I think my brain was already in Mexico.  The feel of this fabric is really nice.  It's going to take a little time to cut into this because it may end up being one of those precious fabrics you can't stop touching long enough to cut into.

Given that I have (clearly) a crap ton of recent purchases.  I tried to show restraint during the swap.  I picked up a piece of stretchy leather looking fabric.  Really stretchy, like legging stretchy.  I'm pretty sure that Kristiann at Victory Patterns offered this up, she was quite funny in "selling" it to the group.  Black photographs so well (did you hear that sarcasm?) I didn't even bother trying to get the black and shiny features but that's it behind the pattern.  I have never purchased a Hot Pattern before so I was happy to take this one home.  Thanks K-Line!

And last but not least...  While in Landshut, Germany, we happened to walk past a fabric store.  At the time we were starving and looking for a restaurant that served something other than strudel & coffee or take out.  But the next day, we went back.  I bought 2m of this for myself...

The fabric is folded back at the spool of thread so you can see the wrong side and get a little sense of the drape.  It's kind of cool, like satin but not nearly as shiny (see how light isn't reflecting on any of the folds like the black stretchy stuff).  Very soft and a rather substantial weight to it.  I love the shades of purple and beige seems like it adds some versatility to it.  There is a little one directional stretch to it. 

And that is the end of the shopping confessional. 

Lingerie Shop Along - My Results

As a trigger happy participant of the Lingerie Shop Along, I bought 5 bras from www.brastop.com.  Overall, I'd say this was successful in buying bras but also figuring out I was one of the 80% of women not wearing the right size. 

I did take pictures of myself, but I have to say they suck.  It was apparently rather chilly in the room and some of the bras are a bit sheer for public consumption.  So let's split this up into the three groups.

The Good

Sophia by Freya

Lucy by Flirtelle

 

Let's start with what I'm keeping.  Lucy is the best fit out of all of my purchases, in part because I bought a larger cup size.  Sophia isn't a perfect fit but it's good enough it took some time to really feel the poking of the underwire on the right (larger) side.  I really should go up a cup size but I wore it long enough that it's mine for now.  It's not bad, it's just not great.

The sports bra is something I am comfortable sharing here.  Comments in the bra reviews suggested the fit was snug so I stayed with what had been my band size and I'm glad I did, this is freaking snug.  With my ankle being sprained, I haven't had a chance to take it for a test run (literally) but based on single leg hops and the feel, I could bungee jump and they wouldn't move.  I am pleased on a functional level, but I can't figure out how the hell you're suppose to do this bra up on your own.  See how there are two black bars across the top and bottom of the open circle?  Both are hooks and eyes.  They are too wide to hook both from the front and swish it around, the bottom I can do up on my own, but my arms do not reach that high and still have the angle to do up hooks and eyes.  Maybe I'll figure it out with practice, but Mr. Lina had to help me out.

And talk about compression.  There is a reason I can buy bras from these sites specializing in larger cups.  Does this look like a large cup to you?

The Bad

I have known for a bit that I need to cup up so to speak.  I've made bras in a larger size only for them to be too big.  In the past, my bras have been 38 D.  I'm 35" at the band so I wasn't adding quite 4" (or the 5" they would have suggested) but I thought I'd try some 36" bands because I liked how tight my last self made bra was.  I also knew to go up a cup size.  So the sports bra is a 38D, the other 3 are 36DD and the Lucy is 36E. 


Monet Plunge by Freya

 

The problem with Monet is the 3rd and 4th breast that I get.  There is a seam line that is pushing into my breast.  Although the Sophia bra is a little small but not too bad, this is clearly too small on first glance.  Sadly, they are sold out on the 36E.  But it is really pretty, if you wear a 32DD or 32F, you may be luck.

Which leads us to...

The Ugly

Oh dear, this bra was not made for me. 

Vivienne Tshirt bra by Bestform

First, I don't mean the bra is ugly.  It's quite lovely, the detail at the band and straps is really pretty.  The molded cup is not thick enough to hide the fact that it was cold but it would provide a nice seamless look under a snug shirt.  The problem is fit and shape and well, everything.  My breasts don't really do that nice cleavagy thing where you'd measure the high bust.  It's like I'm flat and suddenly there is breast tissue.  So when this bra won't change shape and wants to do whatever engineering pushes it up, this is what happens:

 

See how I end up with this shelf of breast within the bra?  It just goes flat and the bra sits higher than my armpit.  It's just hundreds of ways wrong.  Even Mr. Lina was raising an eyebrow and saying things like "that looks weird".  It's just not for me.

In all, 3 bras to keep, two to return and a lot learned as to what suits and what doesn't.  I'm pretty sure Freya would be a good fit in a 36E.  I'd try that brand again.  

Awards Abound

I happen to be married to an award winning film maker.  The Post-Lifers took the prize for Best Short Film at the Mississauga Independent Film Festival.  Pretty cool, eh?  Sadly, they emailed the producers at 7pm Sunday night to say they were top 3, could/would they be attending the awards ceremony that night?  Mr. Lina was tired and watching a movie, not checking email and didn't find out until after it was too late.  He replied to apologize and went to their twitter feed to see they won.  Honestly, the 10 or so short films I saw Sunday were all great.  Good quality of films, these did not look like really low budgets.  I don't know what the other two screenings of short films included but the competition was really good based on Short Films C.

I also happen to be given a little award at work for organizing our team event.  It means I get to pick a prize from a selection dependent on the type of prize.  I struggle picking something every time I get one of these awards.  I like some of the kitchen appliances but I don't really have space for a yogurt maker or dehydrator or bread maker.  They do have two irons to choose from.  I like my iron and it works fine, but every time I consider picking one out just to have a back up.  My options are a T Fal Cordless Iron or a Panasonic Cordless Steam Iron.  Or maybe a small garment steamer?  I like the idea of the steamer but the reviews are pretty brutal.  Decisions, decisions...

In the FAIL awards section, I award a fail to plastic bra pieces.  Friday night we were at our friends cottage, I stretched a bit and heard a pop.  The little plastic hook holding my bra strap and the bra cup together broke.  Bah.  I am not amused.

My uterus also gets an award for most confusion in 2012.  Spotting on Friday was just spotting.  So who knows when my period will arrive next.  Maybe it's a good thing I'm not seeing the doctor until September, I don't have to worry about the non-period, just rejoice that I didn't have to worry about tampons at a friends cottage.

And last but not least, I seem to have been awarded a summer cold.  Every day the symptoms shift a little bit, not so bad to really hold me back but it's pretty annoying.  My ears keep feeling like they need to pop and things sound muffled.  Today there is a bit of a cough but my nose seems to be in better control.  I was going to take a picture of my broken bra yesterday but I just couldn't be bothered.  Mr. Lina made up for the "it's purple" by making our dinner, bringing me beverages and dealing with garbage day on his own.  I sat and crocheted.  He is a very good husband.

Friday Ramblings

It is the end of the week and that's a good thing.  I decided that today is going to be a little warmer than it has been and I have my purple Renfrew on, I could go with a lighter coat.  I didn't think to check the pockets of the coat I have been wearing.  So guess where my cell phone and my change purse (which has all my money and basic ID and bank cards) is?  I never pick up change in the morning, never.  For whatever reason I picked up $3.75 so I thankfully can buy a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch to augment the apple, cupcake (bake sale yesterday, how can I say no to the Kids Help Phone Line?) and cup a soup I have at my desk for emergency late nights.

Time for a Friday list, lets start with the non-sewing life stuff...

• Mr. Lina is heading to London, ON tonight, his movie is being screened at Shock Stock
• It's just too awkward to get me 190 km (two hours without rush hour traffic or stops) with a pit stop near Mr. Lina's work in time for the 8pm start time so I'm staying home.
• He is quite excited that the person who played Jason in a number of the Friday the 13th movies is going to be there.
• Another reason for me to not go.
• Oh these mochaccinos are freaking good.  I'm going to be in trouble when I go caffeine free in May.
• House concert on Sunday afternoon, we're hosting Annie Lou Duo, we saw them as a foursome at OCFF in 2010, I'm really looking forward to getting to know Anne Louise
• I'm going into the clinic on Sunday morning, Day 12 appointment (blood work, ultrasound, nurse, pretty standard stuff).  We will be looking to see what's going on with my ovaries, if follicles are developing, if I might ovulate on my own.  So interesting maybe, but nothing earth shattering, just the first of a few appointments next week.
• Oh and I find out if they are doing a biopsy of my endometrium this cycle too, they weren't sure on Day 3.
• Nothing will come of those eggs even if I do ovulate, but it's about getting the right timing for Lupron-Depot shot and starting the EVIL provera. 
• I hate provera.  Synthetic progesterone and I do not get along.
• Which reminds me, I should give my manager the heads up about that on Monday.
• I should also call the pharmacy and pick up the Lupron-Depot etc just so I can say I have it on Sunday.
• Cold is in the last little stages.  I still blow my nose more than normal, but not excessively. 

And on the sewing front...

• Thank heavens I made my Elan 610 bra so tight, it has stretched considerably and I now wear it on the second hook - tight but comfortable.
• The cups are also improving (part of this is mental), they actually keep their shape after I take it off which kinda cracks me up.
• I wear it unless my outfit dictates otherwise, purple/black do not work with all shirts, but it is now my favourite bra option.
• I can feel an itch for another starting, probably not this pattern, but another me-made bra so I can rotate more.
• I was commenting about stash and the pajama party and clicked about a cotton that may already be in my stash and would work.
• I bought it after making some baby outfits (for kids who are now two) figuring it was on sale and it would be good to stash for the next baby I felt enough strongly enough about to sew for.  It would be perfect for pj's because it was just colourful stripes and 100% wrinkly cotton.
• I bet I only bought a metre because I was planning baby outfits.
• I wish I was home to figure that out right now.
• Even if it is a metre, I could find a solid to match the stripes and make a fun set and still sew from the stash.
• With Mr. Lina gone tonight, not many plans for tomorrow beyond house cleaning, I should have some time for sewing.
• I know I don't sew often midweek, but every night this week has had something going on or someone in my house, I'm looking forward to just being alone with a project.
• PMS/menopause insanity that comes with Lupron and Provera will make for a pretty terrible week leading up to my period starting, it's a good time for sewing.  Focusing on one stitch at a time keeps me from crying.  I have some time yet before we're there, but it's good to plan out some sewing because I likely won't have the interest to start something without making decisions ahead of time.

So what's up in your house?  Any good plans for the weekend?

And here is Annie Lou, the lead singer and fiddle player will be at our house as a duo.  We were in the audience for this performance.

Elan 645 - Retro Styling

I finished Elan 645 and worn it for a little over a week and while I like it, it's not the holy grail of bras for me.

Socks filling the cups, tee hee...

Things I like

• Wow is this band supportive.  My posture would be so much better if I always wore a band like this.
• The back is really low.  I could wear a damn near backless dresses with this bra.

• I love purple, I find the end result pretty.
• The straps generally stay put and yet are far enough to the side to not show up under my boat neck top.
• Speaking of the straps, another successful venture making sliding straps.
• And my first bra with integrated straps as opposed to just tacking them onto the back.

• Mr. Lina also thinks it's pretty.
• My breasts are staying put in this thing.  The top less so because the lace isn't going to hold them down if I jumped, but it's a real shelf underneath.
• Of course that's my own fault for putting 3 layers of fabric in the lower cup - stretch purple satin, purple tricot against my skin and a little powernet.  It's the first time I've tried powernet in the cups, I think it's overkill.
• The directions are pretty good.  I did keep my Bra Makers Manual around because I've put my own notes in the book about channeling and for once I did that right on the first try.  For the most part I followed the directions with the bra and found them good enough.
• The underwire is actually sitting flat against my chest between my breasts

Things I'm not sure about

• The shape.  It really does lift my breasts up and out, but it's a bit like a shelf and feels a little retro compared to the modern soft cup look.  Gertie posted about the fashion of breast shape, and this looks like a lot of the retro images she included rather than the modern tshirt bra. 



Wearing a tank for modesty, but you see the pointed shape.

• The change in shape seriously impacts how this fits under my clothing.  My bust is 44" in this bra, other bras are around 43".  Some shirts have wrinkles under the arm, they just don't fit the same.
• I had a headache the first couple of days of wearing it, but that seems to be easing as the bra is stretching out a little.  This seems in line with Gerties post "Is my girdle making me dumb?"
• Something is funky under the arms, about an inch of the top band is floating away from my body.  This is likely my sewing error, maybe stretching something that shouldn't be stretched while sewn or the fabric stretching when I picked out stitches, I'm not sure.  It's not really noticeable except that I'm looking for problems.

Things I don't like

• Initially, I was going to say the band was too tight.  I really felt the headaches were due to oxygen being cut off, but I can tell it's relaxed in the week I've had it.  Wearing it on alternating days or shorter periods of time was a good call.  I'm still wearing it on the loosest setting but the headaches aren't so noticable.
• I seem to have not caught the stitches well under one of the underwire.  Elastic is stitched once on the right side of the fabric then turned under.  It is key to go close to the picot edge so that you only see the little pretty detail of the edge when it's flipped under.  I guess in focusing on the elastic, I didn't look closely at the fabric and it's  frayed and pulled through.  I have put some fray check on it, and zig zagged a little there.  Really, who is looking at my bra that closely? 

Nice match on the thread, eh?

• The cup seams are not well curved and you can see them through my clothing.  It was hard to find an outfit that would work well with the bra but that is improving as I mentally adjust to the shape and try it under more clothing.  As mentioned, it's noticable on my black Renfrew, but I still wore it. 
• My preference in RTW are partial band bras, this is the first full band bra I've made (well, second, but the first 645 was pretty but far too big).  That longer piece of fabric under the cups is rolling when I sit at a desk (again, my posture sucks).  If I pull the bra higher it helps but the underwire starts to get so high it shows up at the neckline and it won't stay there.  I think there is a reason I haven't purchased many full band bras.

So net-net, I'd say it's a wearable, functional bra but I'm not sure how many of this style I would want.  I like my partial band styles better. 

We've Got a Game Plan

How can a weekend feel like you both did nothing and were busy at the same time?  We had people over for D&D (although I got a migraine so I was a bit of a space cadet once medication took care of the pain), we saw Dr M, went to a house warming, went out with a friend for lunch on Sunday, and finished making my bra.  And yet I also managed to not clean the house and play hours of Plants vs. Zombies on our Playbook. 

The appointment with Dr M went really well. He agreed with us not to do genetic testing.  He feels the test at Yale is still controversial and isn't overly keen on pursuing that route.  I'm okay with that, I feel that at this point, we've proven I have issues through 6 pregnancies that went no where.  So the plan is to just go ahead.  We will do the scratch test, we're going to try intralipids instead of IVIG.  I still have to do some reading myself on this but intralipids are a fat that is given intravenously and was designed for people with nutrition issues.  It reacts much like IVIG but not being a blood product, it's cheaper and they can do it at the clinic and control the timing better rather than being at the whim of the hospital.  So really, how bad can the side effects be for a product to improve your nutrition through fats?  I'm good with that. 

The basic process for Frozen Embryo Transfers (FET) is this:

• Next cycle will set up medication.  Around day 21 I'll take Lupron-Depot, a shot in the ass that suppresses my system for a month.  With IVF, I take the same medication as a daily injection for greater control.  Everything from here on in has to done through drugs because my body will not ovulate predictably.  If it did, this would be a whole lot easier.  Sometimes on that first cycle I go in for monitoring to see if it is going to be cooperative, but it hasn't worked yet.
• Same day I'll take Provera to force my period to arrive.  This medication is evil, be ready for some crazy-woman posts and possibly a day of work if it gets really bad.
• Cycle 2 starts and I return to normal, I book ultrasound (both external with full bladder and internal) and blood work for Day 3.
• Somewhere between day 3-8, we'll do the scratch on the lining of my uterus and the intralipids
• Day 3-8 I'll take Femara every day, this will make my follicles grow. 
• Day 9 I will start going for daily ultrasounds and blood work.  No full bladder for these, it's just internal ultrasounds (believe me, you just get used to it, it's better than having to pee or worry that you don't actually have a full bladder etc).  These appointments will be alternating days until the follicles are starting to look mature, then I go every day, even on weekends.
• When the follicles are mature, I take medication to trigger ovulation.
• At this point, they thaw out my frozen follicles to sync them with my body.
• When both of us are on either Day 3 or Day 5 (I can't remember how old these ones are, we usually do day 3), they will be transferred back to my uterus.  They guide the catheter past my cervix to my uterus by ultrasound, probably the worst of it is that my bladder has to be full.  Picture it, pap test with a full bladder.  How fun is that?  But, it's uncomfortable, not painful.
• I rest for about 20 minutes at the clinic, then home to sit on my ass for 3 days.  I am not suppose to lift anything, walk more than necessary, just... rest.  I take these days off of work and generally get pampered by Mr. Lina.
• This part is my favourite.  For the next week or so, I can just believe I am pregnant.  It's too early for there to be signs, I know multi-celled embryos are in there, I just believe and talk to my little embryos.
• Then I start going crazy looking for changes in my breasts.  My nipples go all big and weird almost immediately.  They also return to normal quickly, thus far, they have been remarkably accurate.
• 12 days after transfer (or 10 if it's day 5), I go in for a pregnancy test through blood work.  They call with the results later that day.  I have passed this test 5 of 6 times.  It means nothing to me, a pass here is simply a fact, not something to be excited about.
• If that test is positive (HCG level over 5, home tests are positive at 25), then I go back in two days.  We should see the HCG levels doubling every 48-72 hours.  This is the test I usually fail or the numbers are dropping. 
• If things go well, I go for an ultrasound about 10 days later.
• If things do not go well, I have to go in for pregnancy tests until they fail.  Ectopic pregnancies will jump all over the place, they need to be sure I'm not pregnant.

There will be other twists and turns and medications, but that's the basics.  I already take Metformin, baby aspirin, and prenatal vitamins, they will add others.  Prednisone quite likely, possibly Fragmin (a blood thinner), we'll see.  So now to wait for Day 1 to arrive.  Given that I just had my period, it's going to be a few weeks and that first cycle is pretty boring with moments of insanity.  But it's a plan.  I like having a plan.

I will post about this later, but I did finish up that bra.  Pictures are going to be necessary to explain some of this.  I'm wearing it today so it fits well enough, but I think I'll have more to say with a days experience with it.

Also, I got a metric crap ton of unsoliciations on my Renfrews on both Friday (purple) and Saturday (blue/brown).  I was basking in the glow of positive feedback.

Friday Ramblings

1. Thank you to JillyBeJoyful, I didn't realize that the double word verification was on my blog.  Honestly, I'm not that worried about spam right about now so I'm happy to turn it off until it seems needed.
2. I'm wearing my purple Renfrew, I wore it on Monday too.  Renfrew has me doing one load of laundry more frequently so I can rewear them.  This also works because I often only have enough time in the evening to wash and dry one load prior to going to bed anyhow and is keeping me well stocked in panties and socks (the usual reason to do laundry)
3. Remember the bra I started?  Then got distracted by pants and Renfrew?  I'm back at it and while the band is rather tight (possibly too tight) it's not looking too bad although a little retro in shape.  It still needs hooks at the back, elastic across the top (which I am hoping will solve some upper cup issues) and straps, but getting the channeling and underwire in let me have a sneak peek.  I can't believe I started that in January and still have not finished.  Where did the time go?  Oh right, Renfrew.  Never mind.
4. I don't want to do work today.  Not at all.  Happy to be here, don't really want to do it.
5. They installed new food service coffee machines with my Thurs/Fri client.  I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but man that mochaccino whatever was pretty tasty.  The longer I work here the closer I get to being an actual coffee drinker.
6. CAS still has not sent me information on adoption.  I've sent a follow up email. 
7. Research continues on dress forms, I do love each and every opinion expressed, keep them coming. 
8. We're seeing our fertility doctor tomorrow, seems a bit surreal for some reason.  I am looking forward to it, even when he has bad news (and lets face it, I am never seeing him face to face with good news) I feel better after seeing him.  At least there is a plan at that point.
9. Any tea drinkers out there?  I am a tea whore, I will drink just about any kind of tea - black, green herbal, rooibos, etc.  Present favourite is Loyd wine infused tea I bought at Starsky's after hearing raves from R's mom.  I do not have any with me at the moment and that makes me sad.  I have tried Traditional and Plum.  Both are good, I initially liked Traditional better, but after a few cups, Plum is winning out, there are two other varieties still to try.  Maybe another mocha-whatevery will make me feel less sad.



http://teatropolitan.wordpress.com/tea-collection/tea-collection6/attachment/90/

10. D&D after work tonight, ordering in pizza and then the game will begin.  Incentive (in theory) to do work.  I am guilty of picking away at work and suddenly realizing it's 3pm and I have 8 more things to do before I go home and leaving late.  People are arriving at 6:30, it's generally 45-75 min drive home from this office, I can't do that today.
11. Mr. Lina passes a little hobby farm on his way to work.  He is getting very excited that three of the sheep are getting very fat.  They are often just sitting on the ground rather than walking around.  The llama and donkey seem to stand near them in a protective way.  Perhaps there will be lambies soon and I will get daily updates on what the lambies are doing and how big they are.
12. My inlaws are visiting next week, arriving on Wednesday.  I love them, I have truly won the in law lottery, but I sometimes struggle when they are on my turf and moving my stuff around.  I went a little bat-shit crazy the first time they visited after we were married feeling like everything was criticism and I should have anticipated everything.  Doing things to Mr. Lina's apartment didn't bother me, moving my stuff in my house did.  Serious cleaning of things I don't want them to clean, purchasing of things I do have brand preferences for, and hiding things they don't need to see needs to happen prior to their arrival.  I don't need another bottle of Windex entering my house just because they can't find the two they bought in previous years. 
13. Mr. Lina is now sending me links to pictures of pregnant sheep and lambs.  Sigh.  Welcome to the world of infertility where lambies represent your desire for children.

These are the bras I know I know

I did get to sew this weekend, not as much as I hoped, but it was good.  I've made lots of bras and I thought it was time to try again.  I went to take a picture of the work in progress and thought I'd post a few other bras I've made that have not worked out for one reason or another.  Then I started singing in my head "These are the bras (Daves) I know I know" courtesy of The Kids in the Hall.

Before I get into my bra history, I have to give a shout out to K-Line.  She has been doing a fantastic little series on bras.  Pretty sure this is part of what gave me the push to make another.  Sadly I haven't been in the right mental state to comment on it much, but it's a good read.  Go over, I'll wait. 

Most of my supplies come from Sew Sassy.  Even with duty etc at the boarder, it seems worth it based on what is available at Fabricland (although most of the lace is from Fabricland).  The under wire are heavy, I love the channeling (922 - not 909), the stretch satin has a nice amount of stretch to it and washes well.  My parents go to Florida for the month of February, to save the crazy shipping I stock up once a year.  My other recommendation if you are going to make bras is the Beverly Johnson book The Bra-makers Manual.  This has saved my sanity and inspired me that I could make bras and it was okay to make a few to get it right.

To answer the first bra post from K-Line, I am not comfortable taking pictures of me in ill fitting bras.  I'm sorry these are not so great pictures because my 38D/DD bras do not look so pretty flat, but I still don't have a dummy to model them for me.  Maybe if I can get this looking good and no nipple showing, but for now, you get flat pictures.  If I do work up that courage, it sure as hell won't be sexy "oh look at me" bra-porn pictures.

So first up is the bra I am working on.  Elan 645.  I'm making it in purple stretch satin, lots of support with tricot in the cup, powerknit underlining the back.  So far so good, except...  I put the black lace in on the wrong cup so it is inside out.  I realized this after I had topstitched and cut the seam allowances so I'm sucking it up knowing it's not perfect.  Right now one cup is inserted, the other is not.  It will have under wire, I think that is optional with this full band bra but I like underwire if it's fitting properly.

I have made this bra before, but the cup is much too large.  K-Line asked if people like a snug band.  I am sad to say all the bras I'm wearing at the moment are loose from being too old and stretched out.  The one thing I loved about this bra was the feeling of the band.  It's snug, you aren't fitting much between my skin and that bra, but not uncomfortably so.  It is quite sad just how much retrofitting would be required for those cups to hold my breasts because the band truly is perfect.  My breasts get bigger when pregnant, maybe one day my band will stay the same and I'll fill those cups.  Doubt it.  So realizing a lost cause, there are no straps on this bra.

Bah, this is right side up in Photobucket.

 The first bra I was really pleased with was this one.  Elan 510.  Keep in mind, this isn't the first bra I made, there were a few white ones with the bra kits from Sew Sassy first.  As directed, most of these bras would be disappointing.  I don't think they give enough support as directed with the supplies in the kit.  I figured that out quickly.  510 appealed to me as a front closing bra.  I'm on the cusp of not being able to find front closing bras.  Either they cut off at a 36 and are too tight, or they only go up to a C cup and there are spillage issues.  I thought making my own would be nice.  I did love this bra.  It didn't lift them all that much, but I had a nice shape and I could wear a deep V neck shirt well.  I would wash that out in the tub, hang it to dry and wear it all over again.  The lace cup was starting to get a little stretched out when the front clasp broke. 

So I tried to make another one.  Not nearly as successful.  This one ended up too small if I remember right.   I think the satin shrank from the steam in the iron.  So frustrating.  Adding to that, I screwed up the straps, something is twisted.  I should revisit this one to see if the magic closet has helped. 

Ever try on a bra and you just know it's not designed for your breasts?  The shape is wrong, it is just... wrong.  That's Kwik Sew 2101.

All that lovely pink top stitching, black & pink lace...  Sigh.  Love the look, but it would take more engineering to make that fit than I'm willing to do.  That said, it actually fits my mother in law well.  At some point I'll finish the straps etc and give it to her.  Someone may as well wear it.

I'd say the consistent fit issue comes down to a few points:

• Too much space in the upper cup, I'm a D/DD depending on the band, but it's not in my upper chest. 
• My breasts do not push together, again, they just aren't spaced quite like other D cups I think
• Fabric - a small change in the degree of stretch has left some bras (not pictures) just making me look flat and spilling.  Ick.
• Fabric - shrinking.  One of them must have shrunk because by the time I went to sew it up, the band was smaller than the power net.  It wasn't that way when I cut it.

Even with all these failures, that one success haunts me.  I LOVED that bra.  When this works, it will be perfect.  Until I get it right, I'm not so interested in buying more. 

Oh and to answer another question K-Line asked, I have been for a proper bra fitting.  The first time was to get a strapless bra for a wedding I was a bridesmaid for.  A couple of years later I dragged a friend to get fitted.  I was wearing the right size and was pleased to hear that.  My friend, however, did have one of those life altering fittings that drastically shrunk her band and increased the cup size.  Go figure, the bruising from the under wire stopped with the right size bra.