Oh, The Pressure

Yesterday was a (much-needed) sewing day, but the first thing I did was to pull everything out of my closet and try it on. I wanted to reassess everything with a fresh eye. I organized fabric and formulated a plan of attack. And then I sewed. I made myself a pair of Linda pull-on pants with some black stretch twill. I made another Toaster Sweater #1 in the cabled rayon sweater knit fabric from Joanns, this time in navy blue. I put together outfits for teaching and I think I have settled on what to wear to the party on the last evening of Sew Expo, although I still have to make it. That’s on the schedule for today.

[Let me just note that there is a tremendous amount of pressure associated with dressing for an event focused on sewing (and other fiber arts). I will be surrounded by people with much more fitting and sewing experience than I have. I don’t want to show up looking like I have no clue what I’m doing.]

Some of this would be easier if I were back on the regular teaching circuit. I wouldn’t be spending an entire month getting ready for one teaching gig. This event is special, although I have to banish any thoughts I might have about getting back on the regular teaching circuit. I have promised the husband that I will not be gadding about the country like I used to do. As long as I get to take a road trip every six weeks or so, I’ll be good.

When I get back from Sew Expo, I want to revisit this pattern:

This was one of the tops I tried on yesterday. Last year, I made View A in some woven rayon that I got at Hobby Lobby. The fabric has bugs on it:

I really like that top. It fits well and looks cute, although it is a bit tight across my shoulder blades. I got out my Jan Minott fitting book and made the broad back adjustment to the pattern piece. The top fits very well at the shoulders, so I didn’t want to mess with that area. I am curious to see what kind of difference the broad back adjustment makes to the fit because I still need nice blouses for warmer weather and have a ton of rayon wovens in the stash that would work well.

Stuff has decided to break down this week. The plow truck is out of commission with a hydraulic issue on the plow. It has been leaving drops of pink hydraulic fluid in its wake, which makes the driveway look like a wounded animal has been crawling across it. A few days ago, the plow stopped working entirely. And last night, the husband was up until midnight trying to figure out why the fan motor on the furnace sounds like a dying animal. (Suspected bad bearing.)

I am praying that the check engine light doesn’t come on in the BMW. If that happens, I’ll be out shopping for a new car.

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I discovered a new sewing podcast this week. Johanna Lundstrom and Malena Hjerpe, authors of the recently-released book Fit For Knits, are the hosts of Stitching Tales. They’ve done two episodes so far.

I listened to both episodes and enjoyed them very much. I have great admiration for people who host a podcast in a language that is not their native tongue. I’ve been a fan of Johanna’s for a long time and have several of her books.