Trips & Travels & Pants

It's been quite the month.  Mr. Lina and I were off to Germany and Austria for a little film fest and vacation.  It's the third year in a row that Mr. Lina had a film accepted into the same Landshut film festival.  Every time we meet people in the film industry and reinforce friendships.  I swear, my Facebook page is half German now.  If I knew in 2012 that I'd be back to Germany 3 times, I would have taken a conversational German class.  As it is, we are getting pretty good at "menu-German".

Opening night, cloned skirt made in February.  Black photographs so well.

Did I mention I dyed my hair?  Wearing Renfew top with cowl.

Again, it was a good festival and his film "Oh Come All Ye Zombies" was well received.  It won it's block of films and came in second for audience favourite by a very narrow margin.  Year after year, their programming is just phenomenal.  He's up against some amazing films and we aren't exactly stacking the audience with cast members.

Mr. Lina at the film fest!

Same Renfrew as above at BMW.

Landshut is such a pretty little town.  Even going three times, we still got to see some new things.  The festival arranged a tour of the BMW component factory for us.  They don't hold back on the tour, I got to see engine blocks being poured and carbon fibre bumpers being made.  The also added a film maker breakfast, weistwurst (white sausage), bretzel (big soft pretzel) & beer, a traditional Bavarian breakfast.

That's a radler - beer (lager) and lemonade of some sort, very refreshing.  Pretty sure I have self-made pants you can't see.

We decided after the film fest we'd go somewhere new for a few days.  Vienna, Austria ended up being the winner, it's close enough to be cheap and yet still new to us.  I liked Vienna, it's very beautiful, compact and walkable.  We rented a one bedroom flat through AirBnB.  It was great, we could make breakfast at the flat, if we at a big lunch and just wanted nibblies for dinner, we could do that.  After being in a tiny hotel room in Landshut, it was nice to have a little more space.

Long day of walking, corduroy pencil skirt I made last year.

 The first full day we walked a crazy amount.  Through the old part of Vienna, over to the amusement park, went for a ride in their rather famous Ferris Wheel and Mr. Lina decided we should have lunch at the Donauturm on the Danube, sort of like their version of the CN Tower).  We didn't quite realize how far away it was and ended up walking 20 km that day alone.  Above I still had a few kilometers to walk to get to the flat and I needed to just sit for a bit.  Thank heavens those shoes are comfortable!

Did I mention it was windy at the top of the Ferris Wheel?

We did a day trip to Saltzburg.  It was pretty overcast and damp that day so I can't say I got the best impression.  We walked up to the castle that overlooks the town.  This is the area that The Sound of Music was filmed in.  It wasn't until we were taking the train back to Munich for our flight home that I really saw the alps clearly.

Walking to the castle in Saltzburg, never been so happy to be at the top.

Oh right, this is a sewing blog isn't it?  And I mentioned pants!  

Thurlow Trousers, lunch at the Rathaus in Vienna.

Yep, I made pants.  Since February I have made a black skirt and 3 pairs of Thurlow trousers.  The first were a wearable muslin where I figured out that the leg is just too wide for me.  I'm drowning in them as drafted.  Above I'm wearing the second pair, black twill that is shiny on one side that I put to the inside of the pants.  It means they slide nicely on my skin when I'm walking (which led to me being unable to sit still after too much beer and coffee).  This pair is a bit loose in the waist, but that makes them perfect for travelling and great for bowling.  I have full range of motion but feel put together.  I actually wore that exact outfit to work yesterday now that I look at it.

I made a third pair in grey, it's got some stretch and pile to it, but it's not quite corduroy.  After this pair being a little big, I trimmed them down further but I had such a problem getting the bum right.  Oddly enough I'm not quite as happy with them as the second pair.  I've also got a little post-vacation weight on me so I'm hoping some of that sorts out the fit.  I did wear them on vacation but the days I wore them Mr. Lina only seemed to take pictures from the waist up.  Perhaps he isn't as keen either.

On the adoption front, we're one meeting and an evening training session away from being "Adopt Ready".  I thought the meeting was going to happen today, but our social worker isn't quite ready for us to sign off on it.  He has reviewed our home study with his supervisor and I gather they are really eager to have all the i's dotted and t's crossed and working with an adoption worker to place kids with us.  So soon.  Soon.

A Yellow Flag Day

I suspect today will be a yellow for caution kind of day.  I woke up feeling pretty good, I commented to Mr. Lina that I felt pretty happy.  I was a zombie yesterday at work, although I did perk up in the evening.  I was going to make up for the slacker day I had yesterday.

Groceries are a bit scarce in our house at the moment, no milk, no cereal.  I fried an egg, stuck it in a bun and figured I'd buy my lunch as there was nothing in the freezer to reheat.  And I drive the 42km to work in about 55 minutes, fairly typcical.  Back the car into a spot, give myself a high 5 that I can do that, and reach for my purse.

No purse.  Nope, it's at the front door at home.  Along with my corporate card to pay for parking, my drivers license, my money for lunch, my cell phone.  I have nothing with me beyond my laptop and I did put my pass to get into the building on my pants because I figured I'd forget.  But they ticket pretty aggressively, I can't leave the car to go into the building without risking a $45 ticket (ask me how I know the value of said ticket).  What the fuck.  It's my purse, I don't go anywhere (except bowling) without my purse.  How did I forget that?  It wasn't even hiding in the kitchen, it was AT the front door.

Bah.  So I'm working from home.  I just drove 84km round trip, I'm not driving back again. 

And in other news...  I did sew last night.  My red shorts look much better after adjusting the rise as suggested.  Mr. Lina is still a tad critical of the width of the shorts, I have taken some out but I think the hem will sort out what's left of it and I think it's more about the lack of drape in the cotton twill than truly too much fabric.  It is not doing the foldy-bunchiness of before.

I did not take pictures because I realized that I needed to get a move on my actual pj's for the fast approaching pj party.  Last night I cut them out, French seams for the inside and outside legs, I sewed the middle but as I was starting to iron the waistband, realized those seams still need finishing.  Tanit-Isis did a post on the rolled hem foot and The Perfect Nose said she used it to finish interior seams.  I figure this is a good opportunity to get some practice where people don't have to see the results.  Well, they weren't so stellar.  It would have been easier if I did the rolled hem at the outset prior to sewing the legs with French seams.  Given that it was getting close to bed time and I was tired, I just decided to zig zag it when my machine decided that it was indeed bed time.  We sometimes come to disagreements at bed time that are miraculously patched up within 2 minutes the next day. 

Hopefully today I can find some focus and energy that was lacking yesterday.  As I was sewing last night I was thinking about how doing anything - making progress on a project, starting a project, making decisions seemed impossible at work and yet there I was, 10 pm making pj pants.  I can do it.  Really and truly. 

Pants Update & Dreams

I did a little bit of work in the sewing room this weekend and will be returning after posting this.  Friday night I washed up all the fabric (except the swimwear) and it all came out just lovely.  The cotton/silk was still feeling so very soft, the red cotton twill is still vibrant and ironed well.  So, all is good.

I cut up another vesion of my pants blocker with the tweak to the front suggested from the last pair.  The wiggle at the side seam is gone, there was some extra fabric between the legs, I'm still finding the right amount to tweak there.  Sad thing is I did that version in some striped fabric passed along by my mom that could be cute pj bottoms.  I should have noticed how clearly I could see the green cutting mat under it.  Let's just say I'm not taking pictures of myself wearing those shorts even for myself just to be safe.  Mr. Lina was very happy with the view from the back so a big high 5 to The Consultative Dressmaker for that.  He is sometimes vague when things don't look right because he doesn't have the vocabulary (it comes out like "there are pleats there" even though nothing is pleated, the fabric is folding into itself), but when things are right, he finds the words.  At this point I feel confident enough to try the red twill shorts.  That's up for this afternoon.

I am quite certain I was dreaming about fabric last night.  I don't remember the dream, but I do remember rolling over and thinking "Oh I'll have to put that on my blog tomorrow".  Damn it, why can't I remember what the heck was going on in the dream itself?  Bah.  I'll take it as a good sign that I want to be in my sewing room and my brain is probably working on the shorts issue and what to do with that cotton/silk stripe fabric.

Given that I have no pictures to contribute with my poor choice in muslin fabric, how about some music?  May 12th we're hosting HOTCHA!  There is a bit of audience noise, but you'll get a feel for the pace of most of their music.



UPDATE:  Picture of my red shorts that are still a work in progress.  I still have too much fabric between my legs but wow, pinning did not work out.  Sure, I pinned out the extra fabric but the back side became a sea of wrinkles.  I'll keep fiddling around, but I thought I'd share my afternoon of work with you.

A little extra fabric in the thigh, but not bad through waist/hips.  Invisible zipper at centre seam.

Hmm, what's that extra fabric poking through by my leg...





What the heck is going on back there? 







Not too bad after pinning, you say?



What happened to my nice bum?  Pinning fail.



Mochaccino Ramblings

I mentioned that my Thurs/Fri client got new coffee machines and oh boy I think I'm getting addicted to the mochaccinos.  They are lovely.  Caffeine is not always good to my punctuation and thought process, so we'll see where today's list goes.

• Mr. Lina has been sick this week.  He took Wednesday off work, worked a little from home on Thursday and has generally been hopped up on Neocitron and wanted to snuggle.  I've watched a lot of tv this week instead of sewing, but it is hard to argue with snuggles.
• I thought I was doing well until I started to cough last night.  I may be skipping the initial feeling stuffy part and going right to the cough.
• Which doubly sucks as we have very close friends visiting tomorrow night from the UK, with their two kids in tow.  I don't want to make them sick at the start of their visit. 
• I did switch to my better vitamins on Saturday, 2 pills twice a day.  I dunno if they are truly that much better, but I don't seem to have flourescent pee from the excess vitamins my body can't process all at once.
• Went to the clinic yesterday to review the plan, price and paperwork.  Switching from IVIG to intralipids streamlines the process, apparently I won't be taking Fragmin (blood thinner, daily injection) but they do want me taking vitamin E daily and there will be a week of being on an antibiotic.
• Intralipids take about 3 hours, they do it in the clinic in an examination room.  I am to bring a pillow, a blanket and something to do.  Apparently most people sleep.  I don't have to bring a driver (although Mr. Lina is still welcome to come) because they don't expect side effects and a nurse will check on me every half hour.  We'll do it once prior to Day 9 of the FET cycle, again with a second positive pregnancy test, and a third time if there is a heartbeat for the six week ultrasound.
• Ah, and the bill...  I guess I'm just too far down the infertility road for suprises, the nurse was teasing us we were so quick to agree and sign papers.  Intralipids will cost us $700 per treatment (far cheaper than IVIG but because that was done in the hospital it was covered by the government) and I'm okay with that.  I can't say I like it, but I'm the one that wants to do this, I would rather see my tax dollars pay for my mom's eye drops so she can see.  FET fees went up from $1200 to $1400, I got the feeling the nurse was expecting us to react to that.  It's not an unreasonable percentage over two years and they typically discount the second FET off of the same IVF by 50%.  I get a lot of personal care from nurses and it's still cheap relative to the US. 
• Odd that the car cost less than the clinic bill but seems to hurt more.  I put $900 into it in January, $1500 yesterday.  Ouch.  Next oil change better just be an oil change.
• So... no dressform for Sera. 
• For now.  And I'm okay with that.
• We are watching How I Met Your Mother on NetFlicks.  It's been great to watch good comedy.  And now we're at the point (season 6 I think) where Lily and Marshall are interested in babies so three episodes have resulted in one of the two of us crying (we seem to have different triggers). 
• How I Met your Mother also inspired Mr. Lina to send me pictures of tea cup pigs instead of lambs.



From http://blog.girlybubble.com

• I don't know if we just power through this story arc or shelve it for a while.  Sometimes it's good to release a little pressure off of the emotional dam. 
• Today is day 31 of this cycle, we're heading into some potential PMS time if my period sticks to it's 35-43 day "routine". 
• Okay, this is going to sound lame, but... we go camping Victoria Day, May 21st with a big group of friends.  If this cycle ends April 1, the next cycle will end fairly predictably at 28-30 days because I'll be taking Provera/Lupron, so say it ends April 30th.  The embryos are specifically Day 5 blastocysts, so they need to be transferred 5 days after I ovulate, so Day 19-21 and that puts the transfer right in the middle of the long weekend.  Yay me.  Another year of camping being fucked up by infertility. 



Day 5 Blastocyst, not actually mine.

• Do I hope that this cycle lasts closer to 40 days and the Provera-induced nightmare lasts an extra couple of days so the transfer is later that week?  I'll still have to drive into the clinic at least once, possibly every day, over that weekend, but we don't travel far to camp, it would be about an hour each way.
• This is the petty and annoying part of infertility treatments, my life becomes nearly unplannable until the time arrives but two months out I know there might be complications.  I've missed camping a few times now because of infertility.  The first IVF cycle I figured I could manage it not realizing that I'd be on two injectable drugs starting that weekend that needed to be refrigerated but not frozen (frozen is more of a risk overnight than too warm in May).  It was insane and led to tears on my part and Mr. Lina completely stressed out worrying about the very expensive medication.  At least this time all the medications are pills.
• Monday I had my performance review and while it went well, there was a clear dividing line of happy Sera prior to August and not so happy Sera after August.  I am harder on myself than they are on me, but in a way that paralyzes myself into feeling useless.  It was nice to hear they still want me. 
• Positive feedback included that I am a good presenter.  I know that, at least, I feel that I am good giving presentations.  I enjoy doing it and I like teaching people, I am comfortable with questions on the fly.  It seems that because I am perceived as quiet, they think I will be shy and then are pleasantly surprised when they attend a presentation and I'm relaxed and engaging. 
• This is a reoccuring theme in my life, people see me differently than I see myself.  Half of them know me as the bubbly, chatty person that feels natural, and the other half think I don't talk at all.  Seriously, the first time this happened was kindergarten.  Although, I was rather selective of who I talked to then so it wasn't entirely unfounded.
• I misplaced my cell phone yesterday, I had it prior to walking into the mechanics, but not after the doctors.  I'm pretty sure it's in my car, I can't see it but my hands free bluetooth seems to be connecting to it so it has to be there somewhere, right?

So, that's essentially my week in review.  With friends visiting overnight, I don't think I'll get to sew this weekend.  Next project is a second take at the Consultative Dressmaker pants block.  I am eager to get at it so first opportunity I'll be there.

Pants Version One & Second Opinions

I have said from the get to, this is a place to sort out my thoughts.  It's a thought sorting kinda day and I need to write some of this out so I don't forget.  We'll start with sewing but it's going to move over to infertility after that.

I did finish up my pants blocker muslin for the Consultative Dressmaker.  It fit a whole lot better than I would have expected for a first version.  The front is just pinned together here, the pictures I sent Steph are awful so I'm only sharing this one with you.  Lighting in my house is terrible for pictures and a muslin of short pants with my belly showing isn't going to be good even with proper lighting.  I'm looking forward to version two.  Even with the issues on this draft, I can see how the final result will end up better than the pants I presently wear to work and hide with long shirts.

Mr. Lina and I were off to see an immunologist yesterday, the long awaited appointment.  My fertility specialist is frustrated with our lack of success and he wanted me to see Dr Laskin for a second (third) opinion.  He was really great, personable, explained things very well, science enough to be specific without being confusing.  I found it an educational meeting on things I somewhat understood already.  He did actually read my novel of a file from the fertility clinic prior to us arriving so we didn't have to spend time rehashing old news or asking me for numbers I'm probably not going to remember specifically.  So that's the good news, I may not sound as positive after this but it really was overall a good experience.

He feels that it's not my immune system to blame.  My T ratio is elevated, but not enough to explain 6 very short pregnancies.  While he doesn't object to the treatment schedule of my last IVF cycle, he's not convinced that it really makes much of a difference, it's a bit of a Hail Mary using IViG - no harm, but not necessarily helping. 

From his perspective, he feels it's one of two things.  Implantation is a very sensitive time, given the number of chemical pregnancies rather than actual miscarriages, it is possible that this is where the problem is.  Embryos are gone before they really get a chance to attach.  There is one pathologist at Yale that does a test on biopsies of the endometrium (yes, they do suck but it's at least quick, this will be my third endobiopsy).  Dr Laskin doesn't feel that this is the best test for implantation issues, but it's the best they have. 

The other possibility is genetic issues, potentially spindle issues.  These are more likely to be an issue with my eggs than Mr Lina's sperm, the eggs just play more of a roll in the process of a cell dividing and a spindle issue would result in the cell not dividing properly.  We can do genetic testing to find out if our embryos have issues, but they usually send at least 6 embryos with the hope that enough come back as good embryos and it costs roughly 3-4 times what the FET is going to cost us.  He did say to us this was totally up to us.  As we only have 4 embryos left, it's not really enough to make it worth it.  For a fresh IVF with lots of embryos (he did compliment the quality of our past embryos) he would absolutely recommend it. 

If we do go ahead with the FET, then he suggests making a scratch in the uterine lining (sort of like the biopsy, but just one scratch not a few).  There is research (started in Israel apparently) that has shown improved implantation success in doing this.  It's too easy not to do from his perspective.  I'm good with that.

So...  thoughts... if this is genetic, it doesn't matter who is carrying my embryos.  I was not a big fan of using a surrogate, but it's honestly more the ick factor than an educated reason and I can get past ick if that makes sense.  If we do go that route, then genetic testing makes sense because if it's a genetic issue it won't matter.  Past that, I don't think the cost warrants doing it.  I would learn that it was a genetic issue perhaps, but so what?  I'm not doing IVF again so either these work or they don't.  This is something that would have been good 4 years ago, it is too little too late.  I am comfortable with doing the biopsy and getting the test done at Yale.  It is more than just a biopsy because it will need to be done at the right point in my irregular cycle, I'll need to go on meds and go through some ultrasounds to time that appointment right.  So the time bothers me but this is fewer tests than I expected from this appointment so in some ways I'm happy with that. 

I guess what just keeps rolling around in my head is that all I want to do is be a mom.  I want someone to care for, I want someone to teach and learn from, I want to grow in my life with children.  I've been ready for that phase for 6 years now.  Marriage is good, but I am not career driven, this is not enough for me in life.  Pregnancy is less and less important to me. 

But... Mr. Lina is struggling with the potential of never having a new born baby.  I can't rush him through that, I can't take on any of that grief, I don't have a way to solve that problem.  If he can't deal with not having a small baby, the way that I can't deal with never being a mother, then I don't know what to do.  This is probably what scares me the most at this point.  Coming out of all that news, the odds of success seem even lower than they ever did and I think that's the only way we could have a newborn.

I was completely wrung out by the time we left his office to the point I could not decide if we should face Toronto traffic at 4:30 or go to a pub to wait it out until our parking expired at 6.  Mr. Lina started off by saying it was up to me but after I stood there for a full minute staring at a wall deciding, he changed his vote to the pub.  Then shopping on the way home, after watching Sherlock, Mr. Lina wants a long cashmere/wool coat.  He didn't find one but I bought shoes at the Nine West outlet (I'll have to check the box for the original price but I paid $37 including tax - total score).  Consolation shoes?

In the spirit of all the sew grateful posts out there, this is my 100th post.  I started writing this for myself.  I didn't think anyone would read it and now I seem to have people visiting every day and regular commenters.  I appreciate each of you for making me feel there is someone listening even when I am mostly talking to myself.  It is a wonderful community and I am so pleased to be part of it.  Your support is always felt and I love getting to know you all in return.  Thank you for being a part of my life.

Two Steps Forward

I was chatting with Clone the other day.  They are settling into their new home in the North West Territories, still figuring out living arrangements as their planned home has a cat and that is not working out well.  Breathing > Cat.  It was mild the day we were chatting and he was enjoying being able to go outside.  He is again, struggling to breathe outside when it's -20C (-4F), the cold air just takes his breath away.  I am not surprised.  I have issues with asthma when I'm around allergens, enough to understand the feeling.  Clone has lung damage from birth that contributes to his asthma.  It is an ongoing issue for him.

When Mr. Lina and I started snow shoeing, I found cold days were hard too, scarves weren't really covering me the way I needed them to.  I took inspiration from Colette's free cowl pattern, bought a half metre of polar fleece and made up some for Mr. Lina and I.  I say inspiration because I didn't print anything off, or make the pretty bow, ours are just black tubes and not nearly as wide as those pictures.  It's hard to see, but I am wearing it in this picture from last winter.

Mom made the mitts (including an idiot string).

I have found it easier to breathe with the cowl, so I offered to make some up for Clone and his wife.  It fogs up my glasses sometimes, but at least it stays in pace better than my scarves do.  So Saturday, I made up two cowls.  Neither are perfect but they will do.  It took a while to remember how I did it the first time.  I should have read the tutorial before winging it because there were seams I sewed inside out more than once.  Sigh, at least it's done, now to get it in the mail.

I was tired most of this weekend.  It was a late night Thursday getting ready, a late night Friday for the house concert, I didn't sleep all that well Friday night (too much late night food to blame I think).  Saturday  I went to bed a little earlier than I do mid week, I had to get up for the bowling tournament.  Silly me was still kind of out of it Sunday morning, I left my bowling shoes and balls at home.  Sigh.  Rental shoes and house balls for me.   I did enjoy seeing the proprietor, she's known me since I was oh... 7 I think.  So I had a good time, saw some people I haven't seen in a while, but I wasn't bowling well and not really awake. 

Sunday afternoon was going to be about the pants blocker.  I taped the pattern pieces together, found some fabric for muslin (pink suiting, polyester, I've made the top from Butterick 5147 from it, must have bought 3m of it) and went about cutting it out.  I really wanted this to be accurate so I took my time, marked out the sewing lines.  And then realized it was folded with the pretty side out so all the marks are not where I would be sewing.  Then I managed to sew the darts one facing in and one out, so it's like having two left sides.

At that point, I figured I needed a nap prior to trying again.  As much as it's a muslin and I don't have to worry about a lot of the seam finishings etc, screwing it up multiple times will not provide the kind of feedback needed on this project.  Between the missteps with the cowl and the pants, it was pretty clear I was not mentally up to sewing.  Two steps forward and one step back is not all that effective.

Now my throat is sore and I am still tired, I'm pretty sure I'm coming down with a cold.  Pout.

About Me is Live

Thank you all for your help in things to include in an About Me section.  It's likely too long but that's the way I write.

Things are a bit busy chez Seraphinalina.  We're hosting a house concert tomorrow night, Debra Lyn Neufeld.  She's bringing a steel body guitar to the basement for an night of blues.  Tonight will require some serious house cleaning and appetizer making.  I should have done more last night but I was tired.  I was reading cookbooks trying to come up with a menu and grocery list and I couldn't focus at all.

Debra Lyn is staying the night with us, so I imagine the morning will be slow moving and a bit of post-concert clean up.  We're going into Toronto to see Samantha Martin and the Haggard.  It's a 4-7 show at Graffiti's Bar & Grill (170 Baldwin Street).  Sam is gearing up to releasing their second album, how can you go wrong with a Pay-What-You-Can event?  We hosted Sam and Mike in May for a house concert.  She's got a voice that will just blow you away.  If you like blues/country, maybe a CCR cover, she's your girl.

And Sunday morning I'm in a bowling tournament.  It's an Ontario 5 Pin Bowling Association (O5PBA) event which means it draws from all kinds of leagues, from social seniors to seriously competitive.  Prizes are great if you move on to win the whole thing, a trip to Dominican Republic maybe, but this is 2 tournaments away from that.  Second prize a few years ago was salad tongs.  Third prize an outdoor thermometer.  Clearly, this is not the kind of tournament to get super excited about.  Still, it's fun to bowl with people in my league who aren't on my team, this particular tournament is at the alley that I grew up bowling in.  It will be good to see the owner, bowl on real wood instead of synthetic.  I am looking forward to it.

You know what I am doing Sunday afternoon?  I'm going to muslin up some pants because I've got version 1 of my pants blocker from the Consultative Dressmaker sitting in my email inbox.  Who knew I'd be so excited about pants?

Have a listen to Samantha Martin.  She kicks all kinds of ass.

 

I'm going to a pants party

Well, not that kind of pants party.  I was one of the lucky winners of the pants blocker from 3 Hours Past The End of the World.  Steph will be offering this as part of her Consultative Dressmaker services.  What a fantastic concept.  You have an issue, need a second opinion, she's your girl.  Sewing can be pretty frustrating when you don't have someone to just push you in the right direction.  I've been able to ask my mom at times for help, but that's not always feasible and a lot of us are self taught.

Many of you know pants are a little scary to me.  Sewing can be like an itch that needs to be scratched.  Fabric calls your name from a distance and it doesn't matter what you planned, it NEEDS you.  I have yet to touch fabric and think, oh, what pretty pants you would make.  I don't even see pants in a store as interesting, just functional.  I don't look at a fly without thinking how on earth does that actually go together... my brain hurts.  I'm sure, like bras, that once you get to it and follow the steps it's not so bad.  But fitting...

Did any of you see the Slapdash Sewists attempt at pants fitting?  Yeah, that's the hell I imagine when I think about it, Trena is a brave woman.  I bow to the mastery of Tanit-Isis and her wonderful array of jeans history.  Absolutely incredible.  All these fitted pants...  sigh.  There is some mental build up needed to go through what Trena did and I've never been up to it.  I'm okay with the however many ill fitting bras I've made.  They don't take up a lot of fabric or really a lot of time, the results are pretty if unwearable by me.  I do get better in technique over time, but pants gone wrong...  my ego hasn't been up to it.

I read that I won the pants blocker while at work on Friday.  I damn near hyperventilated from trying not to laugh and giggle and cheer out loud.  People do not need to think I'm completely crazy.  I now have an idea of how I would react on winning the lottery (although I probably would laugh very loudly because I wouldn't be working there anymore and it's okay if they think I'm the rich crazy girl).  I am up to this challenge with Steph in my corner.  This is so going to rock.