Myrna Giesbrecht

Adding an hour of dog walking a day seems to be playing havoc with my schedule. I'm not getting as much done as I'd like however we've only had Miss Chloe a week so hopefully I'll figure things out soon. I imagine - just possibly - that sleeping in, catching up on errands, and a few appointments are also contributing factors.

Above is as far as I got on the coat yesterday - playing with adding secondary patches to the large back patch. It's too big as it is and looks like a square bullseye. I think this arrangement has potential.

Mostly, I worked on the fireplace... which hit a glitch... and may or may not be finished... but definitely needs some final touch ups. It's amazing that no matter how well you tape off or how careful you are, paint always ends up where paint is not supposed to be.. or maybe that's just me.

My intention was to add black over the turquoise and lime splotches only when I sampled it with the oil base, it still looked splotchy. I ended up changing to acrylics so I could mix the black with a glaze. First I added...

... a layer of a blue over top to even out the colors only - as you can see on the hearth - I ran out and when I went to the store to get more they no longer had this color. It was an acrylic decor paint. I bought another one that should have been similar but it was actually quite a bit brighter and thinner. The one I had was quite old and that changes the color somewhat and the texture definitely. I tried mixing the new blue with a bit of black and that didn't work either. In the end, I decided that it would probably be okay because one was vertical and one was horizontal. NOT. The difference in color is bugging me and I'm not even sure I like the color. It's such a change from the blush pink that was there. I'm giving myself a bit of time to think about it.

The top photo is the vertical tiles around the fireplace and the bottom photo is the horizontal tiles on the hearth. I hoped when I added the black glaze that they'd blend better but they are obviously different so...

... I'm debating another coat of black over the brighter tiles and if that doesn't work, re-priming and starting over OR painting the tiles black OR another coat of a lighter color and then another coat of glaze. Either way, you can see some white splotches on the floor where the tape peeled off the paint and it needs fixing. I should have removed the tape while the primer was still wet and then reapplied it for the next layer.

The primer is Benjamin Moore's Stix. It's designed for difficult surfaces. The paint I'd intended to use is called Advance and it's fabulous for tiles and countertops. My friend used it on her kitchen tiles, even around the stove, and it's held up great with heat and steam and another person I know of used it on their countertop and even with cutting... which I definitely do not do on my countertop... it's held up great. Depending how I feel later today, we'll see what happens. Either way, I definitely prefer the silver trim to the brass.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - the ability to try and try again until I get it to a way I like it

It can be said that our talents are gifts from God and our use of our talents is our gift back to God.

- Julia Cameron

When I read this quote, I thought about my grandson and how delightful it is to see him growing and learning new things. No matter how small his accomplishment may be, I am thrilled and I smile, clap, and praise him as much as I can. I take delight in his accomplishments.God sees me as I see my grandson. He smiles and claps and is delighted with my accomplishments no matter how small they may seem to me.

The coat hasn't moved forward, not even one stitch. I know what the problem is; it's the patch on the back. It's too bright for me and I want to reverse it to the darker patch with a lighter strip only that will require not only removing the stitching, but reheating the glue and peeling off the patch. It's not impossible, just fiddly, a word I've come to apply...

... to painting this weekend. The metal bed ends are now a solid black. I wanted these for our guest room and found the white/brass/floral ones at the second hand store. They've only sat for a couple months which is good. Getting the spray paint where the spray paint was supposed to be was fiddly but I know for sure that a brush would have been worse because...

... I used a brush on the fireplace... and a rag roller... and a teeny tiny sponge... and a thin detail brush... and it is almost done. There's just some touching up to do and I'm leaving that until the glazed tiles are well and truly dry so I can tape off. Right now, it feels like I fix the tile and get paint on the mantle and then I fix the mantle and get paint on the tile and that scenario...

... totally convinced me that painting - walls, furniture, fireplaces, stuff like that - is not my thing, at least not a long term thing, or a money earning thing. Doing the work for myself is enough and I'm glad to have that skill because it's a lot more expensive hiring someone to turn the below into the above especially when you have to do it twice. I repainted the base color turquoise and then reapplied the black glaze over top and now I like the look.

This is what all the original fireplaces in this complex looked like. I "borrowed" this picture from a recent listing because even though the decor is different, the fireplace is identical to what I had. It's good to have the skills to paint what you want to paint when you want to paint it even if you'd only ever paint for people you really Really REALLY love... like my kids.

While I was spraying the bed frame, I also sprayed the end table bought several months ago. I can't find an original picture so either I've labelled it some weird name or I didn't take one. It just needed some glue to firm up the frame, wood filler for a scratch on top, and a fresh coat of paint. I remember it was really inexpensive - like $5.00 - and it's perfect at the end of our couch upstairs.

AND... I primed the coffee table that I want to cover with buttons. It's in the studio waiting to move forward once I figure out how to support glass above it. I want to talk to the glass store about options first but other than that, I can begin as soon as I want to begin. I find there is more pressure in unfinished projects like...

... the fireplace, the bed ends, the end table, the coffee table, and this "self portrait" above - which has been waiting ten years to be finished - then there is in all of my studio stash. I tend to see the stash as potential and these types of projects as work. Wondering why that is had me thinking about other art forms. I've occasionally wondered if it's better for my primary art form if I have secondary ones that stimulate creative juices in entirely different ways. When I begin one of these other projects, I think YES YES and by the time I finish them I'm in the NO NO camp. Perhaps they are simply breathers to help me appreciate my love of fiber and what I can do with it. Perhaps some things - painting fabric - can ease their way into the mix and become part of the flow and others - painting furniture - are not so destined.

When we are focused on the competition, we are avoiding an action we need to take for ourselves. When we are jealous of another, we are probably avoiding a part of ourselves. We must be gentle with ourselves in these moments. We are avoiding ourselves because we are afraid. We are afraid that, even if we were to give it our all, our all won't be enough, that we're second-rate, that God's will is for us not to be as successful and acclaimed as the person we are fixated on. God's will is for us to be fully, completely, prosperously ourselves. WE are the treasure we are seeking. But until we focus our gaze squarely upon ourselves and redirect all those jealous energies toward our own projects, we will never find the pot of gold.

The sentences above are from Julia Cameron's book The Prosperous Heart. I was impacted by them in today's reading which I found rather strange since I didn't think I was focused on any competition, jealous of another, or even avoiding a part of myself BUT... when something strikes you, there's always something else to think about... like am I afraid to give it my all, afraid that my all won't be enough. Most likely because I've been there done that and that might be part of what had me thinking about other art forms, a grass is greener kind of thought, and yet once again spending a weekend doing other things has only confirmed that for me that fabric and yarn are it and when we aren't having fun together, it's not the fabric's or the yarn's fault, it's just a blip I need to work through. It's normal.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - Re-Store

Laying aside every sense of burden or false responsibility, losing all fear and uncertainty from my thought, I enter into my kingdom of good today.

- Ernest Holmes

It's been a busy day so far. Last night, we put together a large pile of things for Habitat For Humanity's Re-store and this morning, they picked them up and delivered...

... a new-to-me dresser for the studio. I want to move it backward underneath the bookshelves and maximize the space only it'll mean reversing which studio door is open. I'm not sure I'll like that but later, when I can move things around, I'll decide if the dresser is staying there but for now, that'll work. Nine more drawers of storage is perfect IMHO... except.... edited... apparently I can't count. Make that six drawers... but big ones.

Removing the patch was easier than I thought. I took out the stitching and then basically peeled it off. Very little of the glue remained but what did was...

... covered up with the new patch. I'm happier with this patch fabric but not sure that I'm happy with something square on my back. I'll see how it feels when I'm wearing it. This is a VERY easy project and I'm finding it quite stressful that it's taking me so long to finish. Me being me, I wonder why?

When we focus ourselves, we come into who we truly are. When we schedule the time to check our email, we are more efficient and accurate in our replies. Our sense of feeling scattered and overwhelmed dissipates as we control our devices rather than letting them into our lives at all hours. Like the nosy, overbearing person who asks for too much from us, we must set boundaries with our devices, leaving ourselves to our own devices, and letting ourselves be present in our own lives. - Julia Cameron.

Being controlled by my devices is not the issue. Other than the computer, I don't have any devices and I don't feel a need to check the screen the minute I hear that you've got mail sound and even so, the two words that stuck out in the above paragraph were schedule and boundaries. Since bringing Chloe (the dog) home and walking her for an hour every morning, my schedule has been all out of whack. I want to get things worked out and back ion track by Monday and get back to regular posting - on Monday - not tomorrow or Friday. Ideally, by then, the dresser will be in place, the studio functional, the coat finished, and I'm ready to start on another project and I have a sense of rhythm again.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - the ability to regroup

The only way to deal with the future is to function efficiently in the now.

- Gita Bellin

This sewing drought has been the longest I can remember - ever - almost two months. I was wondering why and what to do about it since I breath in fabric and the lack of consistent "air" has been making me somewhat cranky when it occurred to me that it was more in my best interest to stop wondering and to do something, an often truth.

This week, I'm testing out a not exactly new, more like slightly altered, routine starting with setting the alarm Monday to Friday. When I sleep in the day just never seems to go right. First thing will be blogging and then instead of running on the treadmill in my pajamas, I'll put on some exercise clothes and take Miss Chloe for a walk before getting pretty. It means dressing twice - first in exercise gear and then shower and "real" clothes - but this should get me back to an early posting and regular exercise while still allowing me to dress the way I want. I'm willing to put a hat over my bed head and walk in exercise gear but I'm not willing to wear that all day.

Speaking of clothes... mine are emotionally old. They're not worn out; I'm just sick of wearing them possibly because I maintain a small wardrobe although it doesn't really matter why. It just is and, with a few exceptions, I'd love to scoop the whole pile up and give it away.... which isn't possible... but it does give me the push to sew an entirely new wardrobe... which I have...it's flat folded in the stash closet waiting.

Another thing that I'm emotionally tired of is my furniture. Most of it is somewhere between twenty-six and thirty five years old and - IMHO - it is beyond time for new shapes, colors, and structures. One chair was torn and needed recovering. It was probably the oldest piece of furniture we had, an antique, a wedding gift. We decided to donate it since recovering it would be more expensive than purchasing a new one. Until we find what we want - and hopefully can afford - I brought some wicker chairs in from the porch. I'm enjoying turning them toward the view.

Over the last couple months, I've been doing a lot of knitting. The green is a sweater I'm designing by incorporating new stitch patterns into an existing outline. The pink is a newborn size of the famous Elizabeth Zimmerman Baby Surprise Jacket. A friend wants to learn how to read a pattern so we're going to knit the jacket together. I'm making one ahead of time so she can see what we're doing and compare it to the written pattern.

I thought the new dresser was going to go under the bookshelves but I like it better under the desk. It replaces the filing cabinet and the two microwave stands that held up the counter-top and housed the printer and computer tower. The tower is on the floor at the far end of the dresser, the printer and office supplies are now in the top right drawer, and my sewing patterns moved from the filing cabinet to the middle and bottom right drawers. The top left drawer holds knitting supplies and the bottom two are empty for now.

Along with doing something in terms of developing a not entirely new and somewhat altered routine, I plan to do something in the studio - anything - just get started and see where it leads. Enough talk. It's time for action. Even though it's unusual for me, I put the coat aside because for some reason it was bogging me down. Instead, I've started on a pair Marcy's Vogue 9035 pants. Once again...

... the fashion fabric was less expensive than muslin fabric so I'm working with the real deal. My pleats above did not look at all like Marcy's pleats below...

... so I needed to go back to the instructions and try again although I'd swear I followed them exactly and quite possibly I did since the markings on my pattern piece look NOTHING at all like the markings in this tutorial of Marcy's. Using it, I did...

... manage to figure out the pleating pattern and now just need to stitch the folds in place and carry on. After getting dressed and going to journal, my plan is to do errands and appointments in the morning and studio work in the afternoon. After five years of roller coaster emotions, I'm starting to get used to not earning income or thinking all the time about how to earn income and settling into taking care of the home. It's a switch. I'm about 95-5% settled. There's that small part that still feels somewhat guilty and needs to "get a job" since I'm highly work oriented but right now, with Howard's health the way it is, this is my best role. Since I'm also goal oriented, I'm starting a new adventure today - regular coaching classes with Diane Ericson. I've never worked one-on-one with a coach for an extended period of time and I'm really excited to see where this goes and how it impacts my work. YES YES

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - just do it

I am not concerned about what happened yesterday. I know that today everything is made new.

- Ernest Holmes

It's raining this morning. I feel like I should write a really long and profound post and delay walking the dog since dark and wet and cold are not exactly my favourite walking conditions only there's not a lot to say. I worked on the pant pattern yesterday morning and have the two legs together ready to add the yoke and waistband today.

After that, I concentrated on finishing the Baby Surprise Jacket. A lot of people really like this jacket. I'm not one of them. I think it's boxy and chunky looking but then, I consistently prefer garments with shaping so that makes sense. What I like about the pattern is the mystery how it develops.

Off the needles, it looks like a stretched out dish cloth until you fold you it into formation. Having knit the pattern a few times now, I'm starting to know where the parts are as they develop but even knowing how it works out in the end, when I'm at this stage...

... I wonder if I'm guessing correctly and am in awe of the designer's - Elizabeth Zimmerman's - ability to think and plan through this project. This page shows variations on the design, how to lengthen the sleeve, sizing, how to add a collar or hood, working with stripes and other design-it-yourself tips. I have enough yarn to add a crocheted edge and a collar.

On the weekend, I taught one of the women who works at Starbucks how to knit and tonight three of us are getting together. Tomorrow, I'll teach my friend how to read a pattern by starting the baby surprise jackets. She wants to knit them together. I'm not sure what yarn she's picked for hers but mine will be in a worsted weight wool for a larger size - something from the stash. We'll knit at her place - about 45 minutes away - for the afternoon which sounds great to me. I love spending time with friends and I love sharing creative skills that open up a whole new world of making things.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - sharing

People need joy. Quite as much as clothing. Some of them need it far more.

- Margaret Collier Graham

About a year ago, I switched Starbucks to one where there are quite a few regulars including two writers, a group of police officers, and a husband and wife who talk, write, and read the newspaper together. It's a "quieter" group and we're all there for a couple hours. Being a regular, I've gotten to know the people who work in "my" store. The first time the assistant manager - Tamara - saw me knitting she said she wanted to learn so....

... this past Saturday, we shopped for yarn and then started her on a basic garter stitch scarf in a gorgeous teal color. When Stephanie - who used to work at Starbucks - heard we were getting together, she asked to join us so...

... last night, the three of us met and knit. Stephanie is a beginner but not a total newbie. She has several started projects including the cowl she's working on above that she finished last night. It was so fun to see her excitement at learning how to cast off AND finishing a project. YES YES

Camaraderie is one of the fabulous things about creativity. For the most part, creative people are friendly and sharing people. Already Stephanie has someone she wants to invite to join us next week - a co-worker that is new to town. I've been knitting off and on for about forty-two years and it's delightful to be able to pass along my skills. As you can see, these ladies are significantly younger than me and it doesn't matter. Creativity connects.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - passing it on

The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself.

- Lao-Tse

I don't know whether to apologize for not posting yesterday and promise to do better or be realistic and say that right now, it's highly unlikely I'll post every day unless I've accomplished something postable. There's no point in nattering on about nothing and I am sure you're not interested in what I ate for breakfast. Wednesday, I mostly knit. Yesterday, I did some sewing and mostly knit. Knitting is hard to post, especially when you're designing your own sweater. The process is incremental and so often one row forward and two rows back that progress is hard to detect. More on that later.

This picture is blurry. That's the best I could do with the mirror shot and there was no one around to take the picture. The pants are unfinished - Vogue 9035 - WITHOUT the zipper or the 1" waistband and at the original pattern length. As you can see, they are too short and too high. I'd need to shorten the crotch depth by at least an inch if I wanted to add the waistband which is actually typical for me but I wanted to see what the pattern as is would look like.

The pleats are a bit tricky but otherwise the design sews together nicely and I really like the French seams only the points are more pointed than the pattern envelope allows you to believe. The above pleats are the soft version and....

... this image shows the pleats pressed and top-stitched. If you go to the Vogue web page, you'll see that there are no picture of the pressed pleats front on. I hadn't expected them to be quite this pointy and I don't think the points - plus the fact that I could have gone up a size - are flattering to me right now. I have to say that an anti-anxiety drug that causes weight gain seems counterproductive to me because my increasing weight is surely causing me a lot of anxiety - LOL. If it doesn't reverse itself soon, I'll be making some changes HOWEVER... until then...

... reality is that clothes that are too tight only make you think about how heavy you are and are not - IMHO - flattering or conducive to losing weight. Clothes that fit flatter. Clothes that sausage don't. The pants above are Burda 8157 - a classic, straight leg, trouser style that I find...

... looks good on me and feels comfortable. I decided to sew it in jean yesterday and when I pulled out the fabric folded inside was the front already cut out in the size I wanted. I vaguely remember changing my mind because I'd lost weight earlier this year and they were going to be too big. The pair above are a size smaller than the ones I'm sewing now. I'll take this half cut project as a blessing.

I've shown this Vogue Knitting Fall 2005 Cropped Cardigan a few times. It's the pattern I'm working from although I'm only following the general outline. It's written with a chart and while a lot of people like working from a chart, I haven't found that rhythm yet especially when the symbol means this on the front and that on the back. Since the front rows are read left to right and the back rows are read right to left and you know you're on the back I don't understand why it can't be what it actually is without double checking if you need to do the opposite. I'm just saying.... why make it complicated? ANYWAY... I'm changing things.

Instead of the rolled edge, I used a Sea Scallop edge which has a gentle waving look and then, instead of the stockinette stitch band at the bottom, I used...

... a horizontal twisted rib stitch with nine repeats. I really like both the look and the stability of the stitch only my sample gauge and my real life knitting didn't match out mathematically and when I took the piece off the needles to test fit it, it was too short so I measured it, calculated how many more stitches I needed to add, and have started over. Naturally, I was knitting it all in one piece so I didn't just shorten the back or one front, I shortened both fronts and the back. And that's okay. It doesn't bother me to have to take this out and rework it. I like the challenge of figuring out a pattern.

SO... I'm not sure what to say to those of you who were looking forward to seeing Vogue 9035. On my body, as is, right now, it's not flattering and it's too short. I've put all the parts and pieces aside and when I'm down at least ten pounds, I'll pull it out again and see what I think then. If it's doable, I'll alter the crotch depth by moving the yoke down and add the zipper and waistband. In the image above, they're already hemmed the 3/4" suggested in the pattern. If you sew the pants, I'd love to see a picture.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - finding the jeans almost already cut out was encouraging to my sew the size you are and you'll feel a lot better belief.

Dress shabbily - or too tight - and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.

- Coco Chanel

This weekend, there were two blog readers who cautiously offered an opinion hoping not to offend me. Please know that I am not offended by caring comments designed to help not harm. There's a vast difference between a caring comment and a spiteful one. I love receiving blog comments and enjoy the interaction. It's one of the fabulous things about this community of sewing blogs - the way in which we can support and encourage one another.

One comment was around which styles of clothing make me look slimmer. That's a REALLY hard thing to assess by yourself. I know that I can be biased by preconceptions and perhaps be thinking about the body I used to have and not the one I'm actually wearing so please let me know which garments you think look great on me and which ones are not so friendly - especially if I have it the opposite way around. I definitely want to know when I have lipstick on my teeth, my fly is undone, and I'm being totally delusional BUT... sometimes I'll wear something less than best just for the fun of it. Our best look - lines - can get old at times.

The second comment - sent privately - was about a way to lose weight. I'm researching all kinds of possibilities to find the one that I think will work with the how I move through life. I don't want a lot of restricting rules, to weigh and measure foods, or to have to eat a certain number of meals a certain number of hours apart, or a whole host of other things that haven't worked for me previously. I want something doable - a life style as "they" say. Currently, I'm researching Secrets of 5-HTP. If you have any experience with that supplement, I'd love to hear about it.

One of my very creative friends - who I never even thought could possibly have slumps - told me that when she's not feeling at all creative she organizes something in her studio. I've been wanting to move the work island for quite a while so on Saturday, I asked my oldest son to help me and we moved it from over by the window to the foreground of the picture above. Previously, I've had the couch in front of the window and the sewing desks to the left. This time, I reversed them and I like seeing the view while sewing and if I can figure out an attractive way to make the couch higher, I'll have a better view from there as well.

To move the island, I have to empty it which makes quite a mess. It's amazing how much stuff is stored in there. Yesterday, everything was back in order and I started on Burda 8157 in a non-stretch denim. For fun, I used a silver and black striped fabric to line the pockets and to create the fly extension. Again, on the advice of some friends, I slowed down, took care at every step, made careful decisions, and practiced practicing joy at every step of the process. It was a fun day. I have fitting the side seams, the waistband, and the hem to go.

Sunday was absolutely gorgeous. When I talked to my daughter, they had 2-3 centimeters of snow on the ground and it was gloomy. We had blue sky and sun warm enough to wear just a sweater... on the 2nd of November... SO not normal and SO wonderful.

Up above our complex, the city is building a new park. This past week, they paved a two kilometer meandering circular path. The orange cones cover the base of pending lights. I'm not sure when they're going to put those in but eventually the entire walkway will be lit.

It's a climb from our house up to the path and then the path is up, down, an d around. It's lovely. Miss Chloe, our drama queen dog, and I walked it every day last week and on Saturday and Sunday Howard joined us. Hopefully, he'll come again today. He says it hurts but everything hurts so he may as well enjoy the walk - a positive change. Chloe has certainly been good for getting both of us out more. LOL - she's losing weight.

As you can see, the views are spectacular. The roofs in the foreground are not our condo complex but the one next door. From here, we continue walking to the left the distance of six or seven houses along a city block and then down five levels of condo units to ours. This morning, when I get back from journal writing, we're having breakfast with our youngest son and then we'll walk the walk and after that, my plan is to finish the jeans and think about my next project.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - concerned and caring feedback

Tenacity is when you follow your heart - when the whole world is screaming to get back into your head.

- Sonia Choquette

Yesterday's walk was wet and drippy. By the time we got back home, water was running down my scalp and penetrating through my coat and clothes to the skin. It was NOT at all the pleasant experience of the day before especially as I couldn't see clearly through my rain spotted glasses. Apparently, I need a hat with a brim for dog walking in inclement weather.

Ta da... I have... FINISHED jeans. It took longer than I expected to "fit" the side seams yesterday. I sewed them tight but not uncomfortably - and I hope not unflatteringly - so and by the time I was done typing this post, they were already relaxed and comfy. The pictures were taken before.

When I placed the pockets, I matched to the wrong mark so they angle differently than they were meant to and gape. To help, I stitched the opening closed 2 1/4" from each end leaving enough of an opening for my hand. They are deep pockets. I've never used these pattern pieces before and I don't particularly like them. I'll sew patch pockets on the next pair.

This is the center back seam. My back waist is quite small. I took the seam in 7/8" or 1 3/4" in total. The side seams were also taken in from 5/8" to 7/8" as I stitched from the hip to the waist. Although I'm heavier than I was, I'm still proportionally the same. I always find that interesting. No matter how my weight fluctuates, my body shape is my body shape.

I was playing with levels for the camera on the book shelves opposite. The shot above was taken from lower down and the one below from higher up. The flash aside, it seems more flattering to me. I'll look forward to hearing Steph's feedback.

These three pictures illustrate how the camera angle and model pose can radically change our impression of the model and the garment. All three were taken back to back. The one above is fairly flattering and this one....

...absolutely is not. Isn't that interesting? Once again, I would really love to take an amateur modeling class just to learn how to move and pose better. It's all in the details... speaking of which... today... I must Must MUST clean house. It'll be first thing after journal writing since I can see dust from across the room. Someone is going to be writing in it soon. After that, a new project.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - new jeans

Striped of the convenient distraction of stress over money - how we don't have enough, didn't have enough, one day might not have enough - we are complete. Sometimes vulnerable, sometimes unsure, sometimes elated, sometimes bored, inspired, confused, excited - this is the human experience - but always ourselves. And it is enough.

- Julia Camera from the conclusion of The Prosperous Heart

It always surprises people how much I LOVE little beings. They don't see me as a baby or a dog person until they see me with a baby or a dog and then they wonder why they hadn't put them together before. I've been trying real hard not to turn into one of those goo-goo about their dog kinds of women which is exactly what I was afraid of when Jessica asked me to take Chloe - that I'd get really attached - and exactly what seems to have happened. To me, little being equals lots of love and spoiling and she's rather fun.

Last week, when we were out getting the mail, I stopped to talk to a neighbor... and talk... and talk... and talk. I'm really good at talking. When I looked down, Chloe was shivering so hard she could barely stand still. I felt terrible and - naturally - bought her a coat, a small running style coat that doesn't quite cover her back. It was the best of the lot. There are - IMHO - a mega amount of ridiculous, I'd be ashamed to wear them if I was a dog, way too cute, or completely ugly coats being sold at exorbitant prices AND they're all alike. No individuality what-so-ever. I'm not a look alike kind of girl and...

... neither is my dog - VBG. I traced the running coat to make a pattern and then tissue fit Chloe. She was incredibly patient as if she - the little drama queen that she is - knew this was all about her.

Compared to the running coat, she needed this one to be longer across the back and around the girth for more coverage. I cut the upper layer from a sweater I'd felted last fall, pin fit it on her, and we went for a test walk to see what happened when dogs do what dogs do. The shoulder straps were too long and the length irritated her tail - she kept trying to catch what was bugging her - so I shortened them both and then...

... placed the sweater fabric wrong sides together with denim remnants from my jeans and ran two rows of stitching around the outside edge, one at 1/8" and one at 1/4" before trimming the denim...

... up to the first line. To finish, I ran two rows of zigzag around the outside edges with the stitches further apart on the first one and closer together on the second one.

The final fitting was to mark where the velcro should be placed. Howard had just arrived home from work and I'm not sure if Chloe was looking at him to say hello or begging for help!

The front has a small opening, about half the length from the neckline to the seam above my thumb. The bottom two buttons go through two layers and the top button through only one. I can get the coat over her head without the opening so next time I'll put these three pieces together and cut them as one.

There's a 2" x 5" piece of velcro on each side with the catchy part on the back of the coat and the soft part on the belly flaps. The buttons are not functional; they're just for fun.

She wore the coat for our short - before bed - walk and seemed to enjoy it. It's warmer than her running coat. Making the Chloe coat was fun in the way that making the little girl twirl coats is. I plan to make her another one using some of my hand painted fabric with fleece on the under layer.

If you've never sewn a project just for fun, give it a try. Experiment with a pattern you love by sewing it in a different size from your own, or sew a pattern that fascinates you but you'd never wear, or sew child size, or make a doll... or a book... or a bag. There's something freeing about a project that doesn't have to fit you. You can simply have fun, do your best at every stage, and thoroughly enjoy the process.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - a patient puppy

When I start making typos, I know I'm getting tired. I've hit the point of diminishing returns. I wrap for the day. The office is closed. How many pages have I produced? I don't care. Are they any good? I don't even think about it. All that matters is I've put in my time and hit it with all I've got. All that counts is that, for this day, for this session, I have overcome Resistance.

- Steven Pressfield - The War of Art

In creative recovery, it is far easier to get people to do the extra work of the Morning Pages than it is to get them to do the assigned play of an Artist Date. Play can make a workaholic very nervous. Fun is scary. - Julia Cameron

The quote above is from yesterday in The Artist's Way Every Day: A Year of Creative Living. It reminded me that I hadn't been on an artist date in quite a while so I went to the mall, even though I rarely go to the mall, because malls are - for the most part - rather useless and what I discovered is that the mall was - just as I thought - rather useless. After wandering in and out of the stores, I came home thinking how lucky it is that I can sew because what's there is not what I want to wear.

Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance. To yield to Resistance deforms our spirit. It stunts us and makes us less than we are and were born to be. If you believe in God (and I do) you must declare Resistance evil, for it prevents us from achieving the life God intended when He endowed each of us with our own unique genius.

Steven Pressfield's book - The War of Art - is fabulous for anyone attempting to achieve in any area. Resistance is not limited to art. It shows up everywhere. The idea that we have two lives resonates. I don't know about you but there's a part of me that's always wanting to escape, to live bolder and freer. It's a process letting that inner life out. Aging does seem to help.

On Monday, Shams posted Funkalicious Skirt - Vogue 9060 and it made me think about how once again she was sewing the latest pattern hot of the press and once again I was tucking it into a drawer. So I pulled it out and sewed it.

Marcy calls this design the morning skirt because it can easily be sewn in a morning. True. From cutting out to final stitches, it only took a couple hours although mine is an afternoon skirt - VBG.

I sewed a size medium. Not because that's my size but because I accidentally ordered two copies of the XS-S-M instead of one envelope of each size and the size lines are very distinct and don't run into each other so I didn't need to trace the pattern - something I always do - only it does take longer - especially with such big pieces. This time, I just cut the tissue. I wasn't worried about fit. I just wanted to have fun.

The fabric is a knit with more stretch in one direction than the other which.... come to think of it... I ran up and down instead of around. Oops. Oh well. The fabric is a grey background with a flocked paisley design in charcoal. I started by fusing a 3/4" strip of knit interfacing to the hemlines with the stretch going along the strip - or around the hem.

1/8" was cut off when I clean serged the edge leaving 5/8" for the hem - turned up - and pressed - while the pieces were still separate and flat. This is SO much easier. It's not necessary to serge a knit - it won't ravel - but I do think it makes for a neater hem.

It took three snap tests to find a stitch length and width that wouldn't break when pulled. It would seem that a zigzag this wide would not press down flat but...

... it does and quite easily. I stitched and pressed open all the straight seams and serged, pressed to one side, and top stitched all the curved seams in the body of the skirt.

And I changed the order of construction so that the waistband could be serged on before closing up the circle. For the waistband, I rotary cut a 6" wide strip of the fashion fabric with the greatest amount of stretch going around my waist and then pinned the strip snug and pulled it down over my hips. The tightest length that would still pull over my hips is the one I chose cutting the waistband to that length and serging it to the skirt. It fit in exactly without any stretching or easing - a nice bonus.

With the changed order of construction, the final seam was along the right edge shown in the above picture, from the top of the waistband to the point. If you wanted to sew this pattern from a woven fabric, this would be the way to add a side zipper.

This is a fabulous skirt for a fun, quick project. The shape of the pieces is a little different but there's nothing too difficult about the sewing and it would... I think... be a great beginner project. It's a skirt for all ages and all shapes. Right now - on my shape - it skirt fits great in the waist and is way too snug in the hips. I instead of falling down as Shams was experiencing, mine would be walking up. I plan to turn down the waistband and add an elastic casing when it fits better.

On Tuesday night, I tried on every garment in there and cleaned out my closet. The summer and too tight but I want to keep them clothes were folded and put into storage. The I'm so sick of these and I wouldn't wear them again even if they did fit clothes were tossed or boxed for the thrift shop depending on their state of being. The I can get it on and do it up but really this would be a heck of a lot more flattering if I lost ten to fifteen pounds went to the end of the rack in the ten pound section. That's where I'll hang the skirt and wear it soon because my unlived me is slimmer and she wants out.

BUT.. for now... I'm going to trace the pattern in larger size and make another one. It's THAT fun and a perfect slim down piece.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - morning walks

There's a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don't, and the secret is this: it's not the writing part that's hard. What's hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.

- Steven Pressfield

Yesterday, I traced, cut out, and sewed a second version of Marcy's Vogue 9060 skirt. A friend asked if I'd please post about how I turned the waistband into a casing. I am and I'm also adding some information that's specific to those of us whose hips are substantially bigger than our waist.

The pattern comes with two different widths of waistbands. One finishes at 4" and the other finishes at 8". I chose the narrower waistband however...

... four inches below my waist, I am not the same measurement. In fact, I'm 11 1/2" wider. Unless the bottom of the this style of waistband is that wider measurement, the skirt will keep trying to walk up and attempting to find more room even if I use a really stretchy fabric. That's the nature of clothes unless your stretch is girdle-like and not going anywhere but even some girdles walk.

The pattern is designed to be worn back to front and front to back depending on which side you'd like the pointed seam on. That doesn't really work for me since I have high back hips and a tipped waist. For the hemline to hang correctly, I need to take off 1 1/4" at center front tapered to the side seams.

I didn't have enough fabric with the stretch in the right direction to cut a continuous waistband so it's in two parts. The seam is drawn in above. Moving left to right, it's at 5/8" and stops just past the half way point leaving an opening before it starts up again and finishes. The opening is the width of my elastic plus 1/4" to create the casing.

When the waistband is folded wrong sides together, the opening is near the fold and on what will be the inside of the waistband. If you look closely, you can see that I serge finished that one edge, just to look nice, not because it's necessary with a knit.

This fabric is very soft. so I chose to press all the seam allowances open to create the least amount of bulk. I matched the opposite edge of the waistband to the edge of the seam allowance and...

... pinned it in place. The pins are on the wrong side and the "ditch" is on the right side so...

... when I stitched in the ditch, I stitched carefully, avoiding the pins. I used a straight stitch because the width of this seam is equal to my hips plus 1/2" so it's not likely to be stretched and snapped and if it is, it's easily repaired.

I used 3/4" elastic. To form the casing, I stitched 1" from the top, folded, edge of the waistband and then inserted the elastic into the opening and finished the waistband.

These are not the pretty pictures. These arethe Myrna is going out in five minutes and needs to get this picture quick to illustrate her point pictures. Above, the top I was wearing - not one chosen to go with the skirt - was tucked in. You can see how the fabric is lying smoothly over my hips as opposed to stretched and pulling up.

And here is the same top over the skirt rather than tucked in. Although this isn't the style I'd chose to go with the skirt, it does vastly improve the look. As I said, I was rushed and this morning I'm rushed too - picking a friend up at the bus - so I'm posting without proofing. LOL - I hope I don't live to regret that.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - the ability to share information so easily

Life is made of small sweetnesses. They come to us when we're willing to be little, instead of big.

- Julia Cameron

The studio is covered with paint supplies again. Although it's messier, it's also easier to paint in here than in the laundry room. I'm not sure why, probably something to do with the light.

I started with a canvas drop cloth from the paint store and cut it into pieces backed with fusible knit interfacing. From there, I built up several layers of bolder colors. It seems my preference is bright and bold underneath with darker layers on top only it goes something like this...

Too light
Oops

Add dark
Too dark
Oops
Add bright
Too tacky
Oops
Add dark
Too dark
Oops

Add light
Too light

Oops
And so it goes...

I started referring to it as the oops fabric with the way it kept changing but really - even though I used a LOT of paint - I also learned a lot in the process. I told myself that in the future, I'd start with those big bold graphic elements first and build up from there... but I didn't. The next project started with faint spray paint and all over blue/green. Hmm...

The Oops fabric is for a bag - The Jag Bag - referencing my daughter's birth initials. She brought the bag with her the last time she visited and it's totally shot, frayed, cracking here and there and everywhere, but is the bag that she just LOVES and she couldn't find anything like it and couldn't give it up its perfectness. I ran interference and refused to let her go home with it. Someone had to help her break her addiction - LOL - and besides, I wanted to keep it and see if I could copy the VERY simple pattern.

I'm starting with a version for myself using my hand painted fabric. This is so I can practice painting, practice sewing with my painted fabric, and practice the bag pattern. I cut the main pieces to size before starting to paint them. Next time, I'll cut them bigger so there's a bit of fray room at the edges.

Here's one of the oops it's too bright and chunky looking stages. I added more layers and then...

... decided to try ring tossing. I had Howard take a - very amateur - video of the process which - thankfully - has convinced me to stay the path of exercise and wise eating choices BUT... it does show the process and how fun it is and a little bit more.

Next time, I'd put the ring marks closer to the bottom layer. They are quite bold and I wanted a more subtle finished piece.

I emailed Diane to ask if there was a glaze that she recommended for over top and she suggested spraying with a fabric protectant because she hadn't found anything that could be painted on that worked so... naturally... I totally ignored the advice I'd asked for and painted on some of the black plus glaze that was left from marbling the front of my fireplace and then placed a layer of bubble wrap over top to see if it would make some interesting marks. It didn't so....

... I tried a layer of plastic wrap and that didn't really make any difference either.

Here's the bubble wrap version. You can just see the honeycomb circles but only from an angle when the light is just right. The plastic wrap lines are equally obscure. I deliberately chose the bottom of the bag for this experiment hoping the glaze and thicker acrylic paint would give it some durability. If not, I'll paint it again.

I still need to paint the fabric for the straps only the rest of the bag is on hold until some buckles and snaps arrive in the mail. There was one type of buckle at Fabricland. It was too big, too silver, I needed four and there were only three, and there were no snaps to match. I mail-ordered what I needed and hopefully it won't take too long.

In the mean time, since the painting mess was out, I worked on the pieces for my coat which were cut out, backed with interfacing, and had a light layer of spray paint on them already. Ready to go.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - growing confidence with paint

What finally convinced me to go ahead was simply that I was so unhappy not going ahead. I was developing symptoms. As soon as I sat down and began, I was okay.

- Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

Today - tomorrow morning at the latest - I have to clean up the studio, put away the paint supplies, scrape the paint drips off the floor, and clear the surface of the second desk. My friend Barb is coming to sew in the studio for a week. I'm really looking forward to having her visit and I definitely don't want her to feel like there's no room for her to sew and double definitely don't want to get paint on her project. SO... cleaning up soon.

I've been working on the pieces of the painted coat. I wanted the base to be an all over blue green color and I was pretty sure that I didn't have enough of the Jacquard paints to cover that much space so I bought a blue and a green of Tulip brand Soft paint and mixed them together to get a turquoise. I bought four bottles just in case two weren't enough but luckily they were. I returned the other two. They're $9.99 each.

Here's what the mixed color looks like over the lightly spray painted canvas. The color above is more true than the one below. Hopefully it's the same on your monitor. It's more of a clear turquoise color than an olive-ish one. After mixing the two colors together, I used a lot of water to apply them. It took overnight for the pieces to dry. You saw that picture in yesterday's post.

Rather than create an all over design which I wasn't sure I had either enough experience or enough paint to do, I chalked the hemline at 1 1/2", an equal edge at 3", and a border at 9" from the raw bottom edge to create a border print. Perhaps in the future, I'll be able to eyeball those distances but, for now, I wanted to be sure that the pieces matched well side by side. If the paint on one strayed too far, I would have had to paint the others to match and I really didn't want to do that.

I started by adding purple metallic. I was worried it wouldn't stand out enough and in retrospect, fainter would have been better. I've been trying to tone down those dots ever since.

After that, I added some smeared black and then blue and then used a pastry blender to make pewter colored lines along what will be the hem edge and then...

...spread a layer of very watered down turquoise with a touch of black over the entire area. It's approaching the look I want but those purple areas are still bugging me so I may try toning them down just a little bit more and possibly add some bleeding upward into the upper area. Otherwise, I'll wait until I've sewn the sections together to see what else might be needed. I've painted the sleeves the background color but haven't done anything about the collar yet. I wanted to see what could develop out of how I finished the rest of the garment.

I turned around at one point and my son had tucked Miss Chloe into her blanket which is most likely why she was so very content to just sit and watch me paint.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - Remembrance Day - we remember

The time is ripe for looking back over the day, the week, the year, and trying to figure out where we have come from and where we are going to, for sifting through the things we have done and the things we have left undone for a clue to who we are and who, for better or worse, we are becoming. But again and again we avoid the long thoughts….We cling to the present out of wariness of the past. And why not, after all? We get confused. We need such escape as we can find. But there is a deeper need yet, I think, and that is the need—not all the time, surely, but from time to time—to enter that still room within us all where the past lives on as a part of the present, where the dead are alive again, where we are most alive ourselves to turnings and to where our journeys have brought us. The name of the room is Remember—the room where with patience, with charity, with quietness of heart, we remember consciously to remember the lives we have lived.

- Frederick Buechner

Take it from me that it is not a good idea to lay wet painted pieces out to dry all over your studio floor. You will then spend hours cleaning watered down, dried up, paint residue off that same floor. And, this is not fun. I have learned that painting of this nature is best left for the warmer seasons so it can be done in the garage.

The coat and I are parting ways... for now... a temporary separation. I layered and layered and layered and the look kept getting further from what I wanted so eventually I mixed up some more of the original color and layered it on top and, of course, with all those other colors underneath it looked nothing the same. When the pieces are quite dry, I'll put them away until later.

Painting and I are also parting ways... for now. All over painting like the fabric, the bag, and this coat is too expensive for my budget. The coat alone has taken the original drop cloth, the fusible interfacing to back it, four cans of spray paint for the first layers, four jars of the Tulip soft paint, and assorted jars of Jacquard paints in six or seven and probably more than that different colors. If all those items were ten dollars, that's at least $170 for the coat and some were more. It's not money wasted. If the coat doesn't end up being a coat, the fabric can still be turned into something else but for now, I think it's a wise choice to limit my painting to smaller details and perhaps learn how to use it as accent points. Have you ever made a choice like this?

I don't like brown. In fact, I've been known to say I absolutely hate brown and yet suddenly, I'm buying a lot of it. This bamboo silk blend yarn was on sale at Michaels. It's a beautiful yarn to knit with and the perfect color for a friend but - all that aside - I also like it. Strange. Another example of how we should never say never.

I have ten meters of this brown ponte knit. It's a quality fabric bought in the bargain center for $2.00 a meter. I wanted to see what I could do with the color and then my friend Sheri and I decided to work on some challenges together. Our first one is to make an creative wearable garment with only one fabric in a solid color. All the details and textures will be developed from using that one fabric in interesting ways.

My inspiration is this blouse from Anthropologie. I doubt it's still on their website since I copied the pattern quite a while back. I loved all the seams and when...

... Vogue 1408 was released earlier this year, it seemed the perfect pattern for using as the base.

Interesting that Anthropolgie refers to this as a blouse and Vogue calls it a dress and it's about the same length - short. Mine will be longer, more knee length, so there's no guessing. This is a dress.

The back of the Vogue pattern is considerably different from the back of the Anthropologie blouse and that's fine. One is an inspiration and one is a starting point. What I create may end up looking nothing like either of them. Who knows. I'm looking forward to the challenge.

The weather has turned cold. Yesterday, I was bundled up in a head band and gloves and a scarf and winter coat with yoga pants over tights, a t-shirt and a sweater and I was darn near freezing while Miss Chloe was prancing along like this was just another sunny day along the walk. Hmm... This morning, I will journal first hoping the sun comes out and makes it a prettier cold walk and after that, I need to clean house. Rosemarie is coming just after lunch to knit and then Barb is coming just before dinner to stay for a week and sew with me in the studio. YES YES - I'm looking forward to spending time with both of them.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - warm winter clothing

A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.

- Walter Winchell

At the start of this week, I was super busy and not sure I'd find enough time to get everything done and now - suddenly - the rest of the week is completely open. So weird. On Mondays, I teach crochet to my friend Wendy. She cancelled this week. On Tuesdays, I teach knitting to my friends from Starbucks. They cancelled this week. And yesterday...

... Barb was to arrive for a week of sewing and she called to say they'd been rear-ended by a semi-truck on their way through Vancouver. Luckily, they are both safe only they've gone back home to get their nerves together, see chiropractors, and find out about their vehicle before trying again. Her partner was dropping her off and going on to visit a friend of his so now there are two - relieved - friends who suddenly have free time.

Rosemarie did come to knit yesterday and we had a fabulous time. I'm working on a scarf using the fleck stitch which is a combination of knit and pearl. I bought this yarn discounted at Websters in Ashland, Oregon when I was there in September. It's discontinued and I've been trying to find another ball on the Internet with no luck. I made it wider than usual and after using two of the six balls, ripped it out to start over at a narrower width. For a scarf, long and narrow is better than short and wide - in my opinion - and it won't be super narrow, just narrower than it was allowing for more length.

When I went to get dressed yesterday morning after writing the blog, I looked at my very skimpy closet and decided to sew another couple pairs of pants and maybe even a few tops before working on the challenge dress. It's too minimalist for me at the moment.

For some reason, I want to make a "fun" pair of pants - whatever that means - and I don't have a lot of fun fabric in my stash especially in warmer weather fabrics. I'm more of a solids person. This paisley print has been sitting for a while. The print is so bold that I either need a lot of little pieces to break it up or well matched big pieces. I'm going that later route hoping I know how to do well matched or how to live with less than. I rarely - as in almost never - as in I can't actually remember the last time - match prints and I don't think I'll be matching so much as cutting out individually and staggering so they don't look silly side by side.

I'm also tired of black t-shirts, not that I can see myself ever not wearing them since they are such a staple in my wardrobe but right now they feel like the anchor of every outfit and it's every day in a clean black t-shirt so I want to branch out a little bit. So pause on the challenge and right now, paisley pants and something to go with.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - bumped up and bruised but otherwise safe friends

Follow your strange creative cravings and you will be led into change a step at a time.

- Julia Cameron

Yesterday was one of those days when it's all you can do to move slow - like a turtle going backward - when nothing seems of great importance and what you'd really like to do is stay in bed or curl up by the fire with your knitting or a good book and just veg. And that's what I did. Some knitting. Some reading. A big pot of curry roasted cauliflour soup. And some sewing.

I worked on the Burda 8157 pants in purple paisley. The fabric is a fine baby cord with a percentage of spandex. I'm not sure how much although I know it's less than 5% because that's my rule but I bought this fabric so long ago that I can't remember. It's been ripening forever. Because of the spandex, and the absolutely wonderful half inch that I've lost on my hips recently - as in finally - I went down a size. These pictures are waistband-less. I wanted to wear...

... the pants for a bit and decide if I'd take in the side seams even more and - even though the front looks too tight in this image - I'm going to because after an hour of moving and sitting, they were a lot looser. To finish, I need to take in the side seams, sew the darts, add the waistband, and do the hems. That sounds like a lot but it won't take too long.

I really like this pattern. I think it works well for me. In fact, so well that the next time I was at Fabricland, I planned to pick up another copy for safe keeping only when I went to find the link I learned they've been discontinued so I need to take REALLY good care of this copy... and check at Fabricland asap just in case.

Today is homework day. Monday was my second coaching session with Diane and I have some questions to answer. We talk every other Monday so I try to think about and answer the questions and then send the information to her on the Monday in-between so we each have a week. This seems to be the exact right time in my life for coaching. I'm really enjoying the sessions and the learning and I can already see/feel the impact.

When I talked to Barb last night, she was feeling pretty banged up with some debilitating back spasms so she's not sure if she'll try to come again tomorrow. It sounds like perhaps what she needs is a week in bed and adjusting the time frame for her visit isn't a problem for me. Strangely, other than a few dates in December, my schedule is wide open for weeks which sounds quite lovely. It'll fill up with activities as time goes on but there are no major commitments and that's not such a bad thing. I find October to April a really productive time around the house and in the studio. It's good.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - lazy days, yarn, fireplaces

... the Principle of Priority which states (a) you must know the difference between what is urgent and what is important and (b) you must do what's important first.

- Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

It's not 100% true 100% of the time - and even so - one of the things I've learned as I've aged is to look before leaping, to take the time to really figure it out, whatever it may be. For the last several months, I've been researching different approaches to holistic living. It's a diet as in a diet is what we eat but not necessarily a diet as in losing weight although that is one of the desired outcomes. I wanted a plan that made sense to me, one that worked with what I knew about myself and one that could - in fact, rather than fancy packing - become a lifestyle. What I've discovered makes sense for me.

Boost Your Seratonin Levels 5-HTP: The Natural Way to Overcome Depression, Obesity, and Insomnia

5-HPT is a natural amino acid that regulates low serotonin levels. Low serotonin levels are linked to anxiety, depression, obesity, insomnia, migraines, and many other issues such as PMS, Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue. All of these issues run in my family and many of these I have experienced myself so it made sense to explore the potential of this product especially as the effectiveness of the prescription anti-anxiety drug I was taking was wearing off. I'm not one for taking prescription drugs and now that I've stopped crying and can think straight and make the choice myself, I much prefer to utilize a natural choice that is safe, effective, and has minimal and minor side affects.

Since 5-HTP can NOT be taken with other anti-anxiety drugs, I have spent the last month gradually weaning myself off what I was taking so I could start taking 5-HTP. I started last Thursday and it's effectiveness was not as fast as when I started on the prescription drug however, after the initial 3-5 days, I'm feeling good and very hopeful that this is the product for me because...

The Skinny Gut Diet

... one of the side affects I was experiencing from the prescription drug was weight gain. I was exercising an hour a day and eating less and wisely and still gaining weight - and it wasn't muscle - because both the scale and the inches were going up. I have struggled with my weight for over twenty years. Before that, I was naturally slim but twenty years ago life got incredibly stressful and has - mostly - stayed that way. High stress depletes serotonin and as I said earlier, serotonin is a huge factor in obesity. By all the scales of measurement, I am obese and that's not a place I'm willing to stay.

90% of serotonin is found in the gastrointestinal tract as is 80% of our immune function. If the gastrointestinal track is not healthy, neither are we. One thing I found interesting is that a predominance of bad bacteria in your GI tract is something you can inherit which corresponds with obesity and other issues that run in families. A higher level of bad bacteria is also associated with many of the health conditions I listed earlier.

This "diet" plan is built on the H.O.P.E formula. H is for high fiber which helps to suppress appetite, eliminate extra calories, slow the conversion of carbohydrate to sugar, stabilize blood sugar, support good bacteria and lose weight. O is for Omega-3 which helps to prevent and reverse silent inflammation, heal leaky gut (associated with food allergies which I have) and improve cardiovascular, brain, joint, and digestive health to name a few. P is for probiotics which are the friendly gut bacteria that neutralize harmful bacteria, protect the intestinal lining from damage that causes leaky gut, improves the balance of good to bad bacteria, and improves the immune system. E is for enzymes - digestive enzymes - that break down food so the nutrients can be absorbed. Leaky gut, digestive upset, and food allergies are a result of food that isn't broken down and nutrients that can't absorbed.

The H.O.P.E formula makes sense to me based on what I know about myself and my family history. The Skinny Gut Diet is similar to what we would think of as a healthy lifestyle. There are two levels - the get lean phase and the stay lean phase. The four supplements - fiber, Omega-3, probiotics, and digestive enzymes - produce the optimal environment for utilizing a healthy way of eating AND - for me - the 5-HTP supplement will enhance that even further.

The plan has you eat at certain times, calculate hidden sugars, and eat six small meals a day. I don't intend to track myself that closely. The two most successful diets I've been on were Herbal Magic (called Nutri Magic in the US) and the Weigh Down Workshop, a faith based diet plan. The first has you eat a similar diet to the Skinny Gut Diet and take supplements. The second encourages you to eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full, and eat what you're craving. I actually craved foods similar to the Skinny Gut Diet so I'm combining those and not weighing and measuring or watching the clock but following that general sense of direction and fine tuning as I go. Let's call it a pick your own diet plan.

I believe our bodies are designed to work efficiently when we give them what they need. With my previous experiences, with what I know about myself, and with my own issues and family history, I think this is the best way forward and will be not only a maintainable but an enjoyable and soon completely natural way of eating. AND... I believe it's an answer to prayer. 5-HTP is new in terms of its availability and The Skinny Gut Diet was only published in October. YES YES - I started today.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - answered prayer regarding health and healing

The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.

- Ann Wigmore

For quite a few years, I worked with Pattern Master Boutique software which requires you to input a list of measurements including upper bust, full bust, under bust, waist, hip, thigh, and bicep along with your weight. Typically, I printed out my measurement chart and tucked it in the PMB file which means I know within a reasonable doubt that X weight = Y measurements which is why...

... I'm sewing for Millicent who is currently dialed down to a size between where I am now and where I'd like to be- forty-six pounds away. It's safe to assume that I'll need clothes in different sizes on the way down and - right now - I'd rather not have more clothes in this size. It's not fun sewing. Forty-six pounds sounds like a HUGE amount of weight especially for someone like myself who has put on fifteen pounds since August and has a history of an inability to lose weight. I'm done with that, more than ready for change. I am either certifiably crazy or completely committed. Let's go with committed.

PLUS... there's something really freeing and very creative about sewing a size other than your own. This is not such a bad thing. I fell asleep last night dreaming of seam samples probably because yesterday I went looking for inspirational images for the challenge I'm doing with my friend Sheri and found the Marta Alpaca Tunic Dress - $199.00 - above at Peruvian Connection.

It reminded me of one of my favourite patterns - Katherine Tilton's Vogue 8691. This is my most sewn pattern and I have it in all sorts of variations including lengthened into a dress. The PC tunic gives me some more ideas... not for the challenge... for a different dress. I love how we can be exploring one thing and find the answer to another.

The base pattern that I'm using for the challenge is Vogue 1408. What I particularly love about it is the fitted bodice, slim waist, and flared skirt and the multiple seam lines that provide play room. My on-line exploration was about ways to highlight the seams. The stitched patch on the Whipstitched Cashmere Pullover - $198.00 - from Anthropologie is an interesting option and...

... I liked the way the seams on the Zipped Ponte Pencil Skirt - $118.00 - also from Anthropoligie - stand out. It looks as if binding has been placed over the seams to create the raised, thicker look. It's not top stitching because the seam allowance are much narrower than this band and the look is raised. I don't see raw edges but that's one option - cut narrow strips, center them over the seam, and adhere in some way. The zippered front made me think about ways to close my dress as did...

... this detail of the Cassia Scoop Neck top - $68.00 - Anthopologie. With this challenge, we are only using one fabric so I'd need to come up with a way to define the edge without using lace but I love Love LOVE those little buttons and the pleat and then again...

... there are completely different possibilities tickling my creativity with the back of the Cutwork Tee - $48.00 - Anthropolgie. I like the gracefulness of the lines and the way the binding creates an added detail.

Above is the technical drawing of the pattern I'm using. With all those seams at the back there would be ways to create a similar but not identical kind of openness to the Cutwork Tee... or... LOL... to the buttoned look.

This detail from the Anthropolgie Lace Ways Pullover - $98.00 - had my mind bubbling. I might be able to create texture with a double needle and/or thread. After my search, I have plenty of ideas and today, I want to experiment with texture and different seaming and applique possibilities.

The fabric is a fabulous quality ponte knit that I picked up ten meters of in the bargain center for $2.00 a meter. GREAT buy and lots of fabric to explore with. I'll be showing bits and pieces of my work but not the final reveal until Sheri and I are both done.... since she reads my blog... and loves surprises... and that's good.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - that along with creativity coaching, Diane is willing to help me with my healthy living goals. I'm grateful to have accountability along the journey.

The pro stands at one remove from her instrument - meaning her person, her body, her voice, her talent; the physical, mental, emotional, and psychological being she uses in her work. She does not identify with this instrument. It is simply what God gave her, what she has to work with.

- Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

It's only Tuesday and it already seems like we've had a slew of back-to-back ugly days that are making the start of this week rather tough slugging. At Friday's doctor's appointment, it was decided that Howard does not have what they thought he had and he's now doing another round of specialists and tests while they make a new diagnosis. The current consensus is that this level of pain - and all that goes with it - may be his life, that it may be associated with a genetic condition. You can imagine that neither of us received that too well - and then - yesterday, when he went to the GP for something minor, she sent him for an X-ray on his lungs. It seems like the blows just keep coming which makes me very thankful for the F words - faith, family, friends, and fabric.

Yesterday, I played with the challenge fabric. The brown is along the lines of milk chocolate, neither light nor dark. Since brown is a color I rarely use, there were only three thread possibilities and of those, the two best choices were the upper and the lower ones. I experimented with the lower one because it's available in town and the other would have to be ordered.

I wasn't sure if I wanted matching or contrast. In the end, I decided to try to find a better match in town. Above is a basic seam. The thread is quite visible against the fabric making it a potential design element only it doesn't go-with as well as I'd like.If I decide on visible thread, I'll look for something else, perhaps purple Below are the variations I played with.

- top stitched seam

- exposed seam with edge stitching

- exposed seam with zig-zag edge stitching

- wide serged seam with four spools of darker brown serger thread

- wide serged seam pressed to one side and zigzagged
in place with the lighter brown thread

- narrow serged seam with three spools of thread

- narrow serged seam held in place with wide zigzag stitching

- curved and straight tucks with a wide double needle
and tight bobbin tension

- curved and straight tucks with a narrow double needle
and tight bobbin tension

With all the different pieces and many seams in this design - Vogue 1408 - there's room to utilize more than one option. I'm not going to cut out all the pieces first. I'll do them invidivudally and embellish and build to size creating the garment as I go.... which means I really have no idea what the finished dress will look like but... LOL... gorgeous I'm sure. I plan to start soon but may sew a skirt today while I debate how, what, and where just a little bit longer.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - family, friends, faith & fabric

Answered prayers are scary. They imply responsibility. You asked for it. Now that you've got it, what are you going to do?
- Julia Cameron

... as in now that you've discovered a way of eating that resonates with you, are you going to stay the course. This and other things. The quote made me laugh.

The Fireplace Glitch

Fiddly And Other Art Forms

Finding My Rhythm

Mine Are Emotionally Old

A Stretched Out Dish Cloth

Creativity Connects

Clothes That Are Too Tight

Practiced Practicing Joy

Finished Jeans

The Chloe Coat

What's There Is Not What I Want To Wear

These Are Not The Pretty Pictures

Ring Tossing The Oops Fabric

The Painted Coat: The Pieces

Parting Ways & The Challenge

Tired Of Black T-Shirts

Like A Turtle Going Backward

The Pick Your Own Diet Plan

Sewing For Millicent

The F Words