Finished Objects - Sorbetto

I did do a fair bit of sewing late in the summer, but I did not do a good job of getting pictures as proof.  So today I seem to be awake (there has been a lack of sleep the past week) and posting at home where I can draw from all the pictures Mr. Lina took.  He's a much better photographer than I am.

I worked on quite a few of Colette Sorbettos.  It seems when I tweak things it didn't quite make it better, just different.  This one is from rayon.  I made a Sencha blouse from this fabric before and while the colours make me happy, it didn't work well with the buttons/snappers I used.  It really wasn't heavy enough to support them.  Sorbetto is a better match, but I could have given myself a little more room at the high bust area.

This was taking in July, when our hops plant was growing like crazy.  We ended up with enough hops for a full batch of beer, it turned out quite well. 

And the sleeves?  I put the shirt on, pinned where I wanted them to start and stop and the top of my shoulder.  I took those measurements and made a moon sort of shape, but with a straight line where it was going to connect with the arm.  Marking the shoulder point worked well because I did need more coverage to the back than the front but I managed to sew one on the correct way and the other on backwards.  Oops.  I notice it, but it's a matter of millimetres so I don't think it's noticeable to others.

I bought this fabric last summer.  The day I was shopping I was wearing these red capris that I like but struggle to wear.  The fabric really seemed to be the "right red" so I bought it.  In trying to "fix" the arm/high bust tightness, I seem to have gone the other way and if I move the right way you can see a little bra.  Things I like about this... as 100% cotton, it's comfortable but has more structure than the rayon, standing away from me a little which is nice when it's hot.  I was too impatient to finish to go buy new bias tape so I used white (the background is a yellow/cream colour but there is white in it).  I'm not sure that was the best choice.

I like wearing it, but it's still far from perfect.  It generally has enough room in the bust, but looking at pictures from Summerfolk where I'm sitting down, maybe not...

I made a third and I don't have pictures of it, not sure I will.  It's sheer, but in trying to make the arm hole smaller, I went too far.  It's just annoying to wear and I think there is already a thread pull in it.  Pout.

Well, time for me to rustle up some breakfast for us.  I will say it's been fun going through pictures from this summer, it's like feeling sunshine again. 

Montreal is awesome.

Yeah, I already knew that.

The screening went well, people laughed at the right time and the applause at the end was genuine and more enthusiastic than other films.  Mr. Lina felt pretty good about that.  He also had a chance to meet Tom Savini and get his copy of Day of the Dead signed.  Last year they entered a costume contest with two of the zombies from the movie (one being Mr Lina) and Tom awarded them first prize.  Mr. Lina was pretty pleased to be able to give him a copy of the final movie.  It seemed like Tom remembered them (well, Humphrey costume, not Mr. Lina specifically).

Mr. Lina & Tom Savini

I did manage to sneak away for a bit on Saturday afternoon to find some fabric stores.  Sadly my sense of direction is not so good.  I found St Hubert and Jean Talon, but went the wrong way on St Hubert.  I did find a fabric store that was all kinds of crazy polyester, but they had some great bra strap elastic in colours other than black and white.  By the time I figured I had walked too far and turned around, it was getting late and I was tired.  In the end I did visit a handful of stores, but it was a little overwhelming at times.  Stacks and stacks of fabric, most without prices on them or notes on the content.  I bought two pieces, a remnant, elastics and buttons.  I'll post about them when I get pictures.  On the bright side, this leaves some birthday money to purchase Gertie's book.

I wore a lot of me-made clothing.  Sencha going there, Sorbetto on Saturday, a cloned tank top to the bar on Saturday night.  Mr. Lina took lots of pictures of me, but not many that show the me-made aspects of my wardrobe.

Honest, Sorbetto is under there.  At the steps of Notre Dame Cathedral, resting my feet.

I really should revisit Sencha.  I made two of them.  I like them, but after the "wow I did that" has worn off, I don't love them.  The neckline is too high.  I don't know if I followed the button placement for either all that well but I needed to add clear snaps in between the buttons to keep it closed.  I dunno, it's a good blouse, but I don't think I got either right. 

Senchs #2 with Annabelle Chvostek last Thanksgiving.

I wore the second one on Friday and I was so happy to take it off, it kept pulling forward and I found myself constantly trying to make it sit in the right place.  I'd like to revisit it at some point to see if I could make it right, I feel like it should suit my figure better.

One top I have been wearing a lot is the top from Butterick 5147. 

It's a lifestyle wardrobe and I bought this prior to blogging.  I've made the top up twice, had intentions to make a dress or the skirt and just never quite did it.  The first version I really made too big.  I think this was prior to the enlightenment of FBA.  It does fit my bust well, it's more that the shoulders are a little wide and it feels like there could be a fold at the neck.  On the bright side I got the waist darts right so there is great waist/bust definition going on.  I usually wear a heavy necklace to hold the neckline down and stop me from playing with the extra fabric.  The second time, I made it smaller, took that fold out of the neckline.  The fabric I chose had a little stretch so that was the second reason for making it smaller.  Too bad I didn't think about making the lining stretch too.  It has always been a little snug but okay, but I am rather certain I'd feel like a sausage in it at the moment.  As much as it is a tank top, it's lined and the fabrics I chose are polyester suiting (which are nicer than that sounds).  I find them too warm for summer, but in winter I put a cardigan or jacket over top and it's perfect.

The change in season has me looking at my wardrobe again.  With fall arriving, I feel bored of my summer clothing.  I don't want to wear socks, but it will be refreshing to pull out a few things I haven't worn in a while.  And it seems some are not as worthy of favourite status and B5147 is showing me that it really should have a prominent spot in my work wardrobe.

Overdue Sorbetto

I was getting dressed this morning and decided to wear my satin Sorbetto, dark jeans, boots, black cardigan.  And then I realized I never did post pictures of it after talking about it so much.  I'm such a slacker.

Mr. Lina took this prior to us going to my friends Christmas party, front lawn of our house, I was so cold and grumpy while that was being taken.  Yep, it's February and I'm posting a December picture, I am *that* much of a slacker.  This is exactly what I'm wearing except for the jacket.  Even the stained glass necklace (which is reversable, it's purple silk on the other side).

So let's break down the good and bad...

• Love the feel of wearing it
• Love the length on me
• Love the loose around the belly but don't look pregnant
• Love that as 100% polyester, I really can't kill it in the laundry
• Love how it looks with this stretch corduroy jacket
• (wasn't my MIL spot on with buying me that jacket?)
• The flutter sleeves worked out well, if I'm too hot at work it's appropriate alone
• I like the ruffle at the neckline instead of bias tape
• Armhole is high enough to cover my bra but not uncomfortable for movement

And the problems...

• The bust darts are miles apart, one is about where it should be and the other is too high on a bad angle
• The hem is twisted a little, not noticeable to anyone but the grain of the fabric is diagonal in spots
• I think I did cheaters French seams (good call because this frays like crazy) but I didn't do a great job of trimming so there are spots where there are tiny threads poking through, again, I know what they are from but they aren't noticeable

So, everything that is good is great, and the not so good aspects probably aren't noticeable to anyone but me.  Even the bust darts.  With the pattern, I didn't notice the discrepancy until I had worn it a bunch of times. 

Okay, and speaking of December vs February...   I am all for mild winters.  I am okay with not shovelling snow although I do miss snow shoeing.  I get that green Christmas is pretty common for this part of Canada.  But my crocuses have decided it is spring.  My lilac bush has some green buds.  They are going to be seriously disappointed if February decides that winter really does exist and slaps them with a foot of snow.

Debra Lyn Neufeld is presently at my house, hanging out with Mr. Lina.  Time to get my own show on the road and head home...

Christmas wrap up

For being the "slow" time between holidays at work, it hasn't been slow at all.  I'm feeling a little stretched thin at the moment, bit of a brain fog.  As much as I'd love to dive into my sewing room, it's not really in the cards.  I think I'll post, have a bath and head to bed.  Besides, it needs some cleaning before it's productive space again.

Christmas went well, better than I expected.  People mostly let me carry on in happy fantasy land where my SIL is not pregnant.  It made it all a whole lot easier on me.  Outside of a little melt down on the 24th, it was a tear free holiday.

I was spoiled.  Mr. Lina gave me the Colette book as mentioned, I've read through it already.  Certainly some food for thought in there, it's going to be a good resource.  I'm looking forward to trying Pastille and while I should start with Meringue because I need skirts, I'll probably be seduced by the Taffy blouse.

My parents gave me a few sewing related things.  I asked for a few specific things that I thought my mom would find easier to buy than anyone else in my life.  A narrow rolled hem foot being the primary hard to find item.  I also wanted some small scissors for delicate projects, she bought me two pairs.  One is the small cheap kind from the cash at Fabricland, probably useful for threads etc, but the other have a really nice feel.  They have springs and a cushy handle (see basket below).  We'll see how they do in practice.  I also mentioned that I had bought the heart chalk marker and I like it, refills would be a good stocking stuffer.  I'm well stocked now, they were on 2 for 1 apparently so I have two white refills and two blue refills.  I might have to buy a new heart for the blue chalk.

The best, however, was truly a joint project from my parents.

Mom saw the concept somewhere, web article maybe, and had Dad make it for me.  It's peg board in a picture frame, simple as that.  Add some hooks and a basket (holding my other new notions) and maybe I will be able to find my bias tape maker when I reach for it next.  In theory I do have a drawer for this kind of stuff, but it's getting full and I tend to forget to put things away mid-project and then they fall off the desk and I can't find them.  Being on the wall it might feel like it's not being put away exactly, just in a reachable spot.  I like it and I love the thought that went into it. 

The tea towels were very well received.  Completion of the red set was truly down to the wire, but I had time to wash and press them prior to wrapping.  Both of my SIL loved that the designs fit them well.  I gather they were put to use the very next day at Scot's house.  I did get a few pictures before wrapping them up.

I had quite a bit of extra tea towelling in the end.  This came in handy as I baked bread on Christmas Day, a sweet yeast bread that can be made into coffee cake or a tea loaf.  I rolled it with maraschino cherries, brown sugar and butter.  A small loaf each for my aunt and uncle and cousin and the rest went into a bundt pan I'll use for New Year's Eve.  Anyhow, I did a quick press and stitched up the side hems and wrapped the bread in the plain tea towel.  That puts me down to about enough to make one of each colour for myself if I so desire.

Time for me to curl up in the bath with a book and some throat coat tea with honey.  Mr. Lina has been fighting off a cold for a while now and thus far I've felt fine but today... I dunno.  This feels more run down than just tired.  Hopefully a good night sleep and more mandarin oranges will keep it at bay.

Can't post...

Christmas went better than expected.  I will do a full post soon, but I finally got to open this:

Can't write, must read...  ;)



We will return to regular programming... soonish.

So things are not so happy in Seraphinalina-land (say that 3 times fast).  In perspective, of course everything is fine.  We're healthy, I have a freak hive at the moment but that's par for the course.  My period seems to be MIA and not for good reasons but I've also been bad at taking my medications so that could be to blame.  Finances are good, still employed, have food, have roof... yep, should be happy. 

I mentioned my brother (Clone) and SIL invited themselves over for dinner on Friday.  I have yet to be in their apartment.  I like to feed people, so I'm okay with that, but it did set of the spidey senses, and they were right.  My SIL is pregnant.  While I want to be happy for them, 4 days of off and on crying is telling me I'm not.  I don't want to say too much because they might at some point find out about this blog, but let's just say it's hard.  Really hard. 

Okay, I need an outlet too, I can always hide a post later, right?  So the problem has a few layers.
1.  They are planning on moving to the Northwest Territories in January (roughly 4,500 km away depending on your route, that's about 2,800 miles, no more Friday night dinners).
2.  They are moving because neither have full time employment.  Somehow this will be easier in a city with an estimated population of 3,648 than the largest city in Canada.  I will give them points that cost of living will be lower.
3.  He's 6 years younger than me and she's another crazy age gap to him.  I try not to think about her specific birth year because it reminds me I'm getting old in a biological sense (not that I'm upset about aging, I like my whites). 
4.  Family events have always been baby free.  I never had to psyche myself up for them like I do for any event with friends (except Mother's Day).  Now there is no safe holiday.  None. 
5.  I don't want to feel like crap every time I see her.  She's a lovely, wonderful person who would feel terrible if she really knew how much this is going to hurt. 

We did go to see our therapist last Monday (prior to the news).  It's even more clear to me that I'm the one that is struggling and I'll be going for alternating Mondays for a while.  Mr. Lina just doesn't know what to say or how to listen because it's the same thing over and over.  And it is, but it's not.  I was crushed with our first chemical pregnancy.  Yes, I wanted to be pregnant and I wanted kids, but I had no skills with grief to deal with that loss.  Now I feel like I have the skill set to deal with grief, but this is just ongoing sadness, I can't just fix it.  I had a good day at work today.  I didn't even read blogs, crazy.  And then I got into the car to drive home and promptly started crying as soon as I was on the highway.  WTF?  I felt fine all day.

My therapist asked if I had taken time off work, maybe I should consider a mental health day.  I still have 3 sick days for the year.  It's in the back of my head since she mentioned it.  We'll see how tomorrow goes, maybe she's got a good point.  Stay home, sew up more Sorbettos and cry.  Yeah, that sounds pretty tempting right about now.

Saturday is Christmas with my friends.  I'm not sure I can do it.  All of them have kids except the friend who got married in October.  One is pregnant.  Last year Mr. Lina didn't go with me, he couldn't face 3 pregnant women.  I had a friend pick me up, I knew I'd cry the whole way both directions or balk if I went on my own.  They were my best friends through university and after but I feel the weight in my chest just thinking about going.  So this year I rsvp'd for just me and when I mentioned it he feels compelled to go.  I'm not sure what's worse.  I mean, I want him there particularly while I feel so sad in general, but I don't like thinking of making him go.  I hate how this makes my world smaller. 

I did cut out a third Sorbetto, well, the front piece.  Didn't quite get to the back when people arrived for D&D on Sunday.  Has anyone tried it in a knit?  This is fabric out of my mom's discard pile.  It's a weird somewhat sheer knit.  I'm not overly fond of the fabric and I have to do something about the sheer factor.  I figure it's good to test out the fit in a knit.  If I don't like it I haven't lost much but my time and thread.

New Orleans Part 3 - Sencha day

I figured my last NOLA post was getting a little long but there was still one more day - and my only self stitched day.  Seriously, clearly I wasn't thinking of that angle when I packed.  We didn't take pictures and I've already told those stories, this was the last tourist day.

Sunday was about catching the last couple of sights we missed - and mostly of the French Quarter walking around variety.  We had a lovely breakfast at the Rib Room with the same waiter as on the Natchez.  Bill is fantastic, gave us a tour of the private dining rooms below. 



Bill!  At the Rib Room - seriously ask for Bill.



We also got to go up to the roof of the hotel.  What a view...

Then it was off to walk our breakfast off.  Mr. Lina had read about cornstalk fence in our little guide book.

Imagine having to take that yellow can of paint around to paint the corn?  Close up it's pretty clear there are many layers of paint to that fence.  It's certainly original.

Bill gave us directions to find Francis Ford Coppala's house, so we HAD to walk by to see.  Mr. Lina is a movie fanatic, so he was pretty jazzed to see it even if nothing was going on.  Apparently he rents it out when he's not using it, aimed more for housing cast & crew.  It's a bit out of our budget.  ;)

60 day minimum to rent from FFC.

Our meandering took us to Jean Lafite's for a drink and Armstrong Park on our way to Treme.  We loved the HBO series, although we still have to watch season 2.  For me, it really grounded what I was seeing, thinking of where Davis or Antoine lived or played...  When we got to Treme, there was a parade.  Good timing.

Treme has a mix of houses that are well cared for and fixed up and some that still have a lot of damage I can only assume is from Katrina.

Then to the Mint.  The mint also hosts a display on jazz and Preservation Hall in particular.  It's a bit odd to share a building, but well worth a visit.  Actually, I could have listened to the guy at the desk for a whole lot longer.  He lived through Katrina and while we didn't ask about it, he was happy to tell his perspective.  He had been in the navy, didn't know how to swim, but seeing the world, he knew they were poor.  Prior to Katrina, he said NOLA was a place you could be poor and not know it.  After...  The illusion was gone.  He has 3 fears, high water (he can't swim), snakes, and dead bodies.  He saw all three with Katrina and spent 6 days in the Superdome because he didn't have the resources to leave.  Sadly, other people arrived at that point and so he went back to doing his job and we went off to listen to music and read about Preservation Hall.

Exhibit for Preservation Hall

Happiest tuba player ever when we were at Preservation Hall.

For our last dinner, we went back to the Crescent City Brew House to have crazy huge oysters.  I wore my black polka dot Lekala 5432 out for dinner and got an unsolicitation.  It was quite lovely and we took pictures of the oysters, but not of each other.  We really should ask staff to take pictures of us while on vacation.

Now that I look at the pictures, you only have one of me wearing Sencha and you don't really see much.  It was a warm day, but I was wearing a sweater most of the time. 

Sadly, one of my covered buttons came uncovered.  It's not pretty having a silver button in between all the pretty purple ones.  I remember thinking after doing them I should have put a little glue down just to be sure they stay put.  Lesson learned for next time.

I need to get Mr. Lina to do a little photo shoot for me so I can post my new Sorbetto's.  I have been wearing them a lot, for being more summery, I'm actually making them work into my winter wardrobe.  I'm tempted to make a third, but looking through my fabric stash, nothing really says Sorbetto.  Ah well.  Not a lot of time to sew in the next couple of days anyhow.  My brother and SIL are coming for dinner Friday, Kev Corbett (recent winner of Nova Scotia Musician of the Year and veteran of my basement) is playing in Oakville tonight so I'd like to support him.  Saturday we're off to the Christmas Tree Hunt...  Maybe Sunday I'll sew.  Nope, D&D.  Sigh.  One day I will get back in that room.

Crazy day coming up

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers.  It's business as usual here.

An Amazon package arrived last night.  This is not surprising in my house, Mr. Lina is a frequent customer.  But he needed to tell me that my Christmas present was in there.  Why, I don't know, I would have ignored it assuming there was some Cthulhu or board game something or other.  You know what I think it is (given that it's the only thing I asked for - with reminders when it did release)? 

Tee hee.  The box (still unopened by Mr. Lina) is sitting in the living room right now laughing at me.  Bah.  As excited as I am about getting this for Christmas, I think I'd rather not know it was in the house at this moment.

Today is going to be a crazy day.  I will get back to Part 2 of New Orleans (there is much more food to come) and I have TWO completed Sorbettos to post about (wearing one at the moment), but, it's crazy day and this post is just to let off some steam while I wait for data to run. 

I'm going to try a little good news/bad news...
Bad news...  couldn't sleep last night, too much to do today, too much on my mind.  Went to bed at 12 (about a half hour later than usual) but it was 1 before I fell asleep and Mr. Lina and I were both awake at 4am. 
Good news... when I did finally decide to not hit snooze again, I actually felt awake.  Sometimes it takes a while before I really feel alert.

Bad news...  ham was still frozen this morning.  It was suppose to go in the slow cooker.
Good news... gave me time to make chicory coffee (new addiction since NOLA) and put my lunch together while it was defrosting in the microwave.

Bad news... car needed gas, late start to the day was even later.
Good news...  Took the toll highway to try and speed up my trip to work, so it was at least more enjoyable than the first half of my drive usually is.

Bad news...  accident closer to my workplace, so any time gained was subsequently lost.
Good news... no real upside, I was just late.  But I did get to work early enough to get one of the last 3 parking spots in my usual lot.

Bad news... forgot my pass at home, must be in my other coat.
Good news... it's warm enough today to wear my light blue leather coat that doesn't sit well done up.  They say it's going to be 9C today.  Pretty impressive for November.

Bad news...  I don't enjoy dealing with the person I am doing project work for today.
Good news...  I'm going to be learning about restaurants for the project, so it should be vaguely interesting, a change from consumer packaged goods anyhow.  And the sooner it's done the sooner I'm heading home because...

Good news...  Coco Love Alcorn is coming to my house tonight along with her husband and her 14 month old daughter.  There's going to be a baby (well, toddler) in my house tonight.  Mr. Lina is very excited about that.  There is no bad news that goes along with that (well, until the toddler leaves).

The trumpet playing baby!  Multi talented, she plays the keytar on the back cover

So even with crappy stuff blocking my way today, it's going to be a freakishly good day because I say so.  Coco is awesome, there will be toddlers in the house, we have over 20 people saying they are coming tonight so I'm not stressing about attendance and it's one of our guests birthdays so there will be a surprise cake.  :)

Sencha & Turkey

My long overdue Thanksgiving wrap up.  It's going to be short because we're heading out for a house concert (which outgrew the house - it's in a church).  I've got a little time before we eat turkey soup (I finally got up the courage to thaw out some of the bones) and head out.

So first, the turkey.

Gobble gobble.

Here is Mr. Lina carving the bird.  It's freakishly huge.  Look at how wide it is relative to the oven door.  Crazy.  But very tasty.

And then we had our house concert.  As mentioned, Annabelle Chvostek was awesome. 



Myself, Annabelle Chvostek and Mr. Lina


My blouse is yet another Sencha blouse.  There is something kinda funky at the back, but tucked into my denim skirt you wouldn't know and I got quite a few compliments.  I made covered buttons for this version, they turned out well and are actually less annoying than the snapper version.  The fabric is polyester as far as I remember, it took a crease a bit better than I'd expect for polyester.  I am pretty sure I bought that before we lived in this house, I haven't the faintest clue how much I paid for it.  Mr. Lina's first comment was that it was very much me, those are my favourite colours.  In cropping the picture I noticed that I'm wearing my old elastic belt. 

Alright time to go.  We're off to see David Ross MacDonald and The Once.  We hosted Dave in May, he's heading home to Australia soon.  The Once are a trio from Newfoundland, they were on Canada AM this week, I didn't see it myself (not a lot of daytime tv around here).  If I remember right from the Summerfolk program, one of the members has ties to Great Big Sea, but I can't seem to find that on their web site, granted I'm not looking too hard.  Lovely Celtic group, a few original songs, occasionally Lenord Cohen cover.  Given that I have a big soft spot for DRM and I'm just getting to know The Once, I'm picking a YouTube clip from a house concert he gave shortly after we hosted him.  The intro to the song is long, but it's worth the wait to hear his voice.  He's absolutely delightful in person, we're lucky he visits Canada.

Lekala bonanza

Thank you to Fehr Trade for pointing out that Lekala is offering size 44 and 46 for free for a month.  Oh I like these months.  I've downloaded a ton in the past and while I'm slow to make them up, I love glancing through my folder of possibilities.  The few patterns I have made up I have done more than once so it feels like I have used more than I have.  The size 46 with a FBA is pretty close to my measurements.  I also need to shorten it.  Surprisingly, people do not often design patterns with152.5cm height in mind.  (Doesn't that sound taller than 5' and a half inch?) 

I wore my new Sencha blouse yesterday and it did pretty well.  Something is pooling in the back, but tucked in it looks great and the covered buttons bothered me less than the snaps did.  I was surprised by that.  Sadly, pictures will have to wait for another day.  It was Mr. Lina's actual birthday yesterday so I spent the evening hanging out with him.  He was feeling tired and a bit under the weather, so we had beef stew and leftover cake at home rather than going out.  Warm comfort food on a rainy day. 

Sencha

I mentioned in my opening post I sew in fits and starts.  Summer isn't a terribly productive time of year for me because it's too hot.  My sewing room is an extra bedroom upstairs and the AC just doesn't quite reach there.  Add the iron, lighting, I'm not interested in sewing when it's 40C.

However... with the Rooibos sew-a-long going on, there was a discount at Colette.  I figured if I was going to get Rooibos, I may as well pick up Sencha and Crepe as well.  They arrived and I was so excited, I had to start with something and I figured Sencha was the way to go.

I've now made 3.  The first was a muslin.  I made it out of crappy 100% polyester I was hoping would be a wearable muslin if things went well and an "oh well" if they didn't.  Well, they didn't.  The fabric frays terribly and my half-assed French seam at the shoulders took in too much.  Still, it got the concept across enough to switch to a rayon I did like.

I took more care with this version.  I bought some spray starch so it wouldn't slide around so much, I put strips of interfacing along the shoulders/neckline once I noticed it was stretching out.  I am  pleased except for a few things.

Hiking after work in my Sencha blouse.

1.  Wow is the neckline high.  After wearing it for a day and catching myself pulling it down over and over again, I took it in just a smidge and it's much more comfortable, albeit a bit slapdash.

2.  Snaps.  I didn't do a great job on the snappers.  I used pearl top snappers and I think the problem is two fold.  First, they are heavy on a drapy fabric.  Second, 6 is not enough.  There are gaps, so I've hand sewn clear snappers where it was gaping.

Past that, I love wearing it.  It is perfect for casual Fridays at work with jeans.  So I made another.

I took my time.
I did a better job marking the pattern.
My tucks are more precise.
I used satin bias tape at the neckline.
I followed those sleeve instructions as best as I could.

And it doesn't fit.  It's flattening my chest, the sleeves feel weird, it's pulling in all kinds of directions.  Maybe I'll revisit it in a week and see where I could let a little out.  It's pretty.  Well, I think it's pretty.  It's a soft bluey green colour (I really don't like green but I like this).  But I asked Mr Lina what he thought and his first comment was that it looked like a hospital gown.

Bah.