June 16, 2010

This, That and The Other Thing

A mixture of having quite a bit on my plate right now along with being a bit unsure of where to focus my energy has led to nothing productive to show again today.

I laid out and was just about to cut this pattern when I put the tissue piece for the belt around my waist and came up almost 2 inches shy of reaching around. I am in a quandary as how to proceed.
 If I get the bust measurement correct on a pattern, then the waist is too small. If I go for a larger pattern in the bust then darts are all wrong. I am too new to sewing to know how to handle this. So on the agenda today is to do my best to add some inches to the waist on this pattern and give it a try. The fabric I have chosen only cost $1.00 but I hate to cut it all out and not have it fit. It is an actual darker blue than shows in the photo.
 I am also feeling that I might look like a nun in this. Not that there is anything wrong with that.  I have cut the bib part out of some of the dotted white swiss I got last week and thought maybe I would do the ruffle in another color. I need help. Suggestions and any help from my sewing friends would be much appreciated.

This is the envelope flap. Which clearly puts this pattern as WWII.

I will be making a peach pie today due to the fact that I bought some peaches on sale last week and they are ripe and need to be made into something lovely. Hubby loves pie. He will be so happy.  I pulled out the "mother of all cookbooks" and there is a simple peach pie in it. I have some blueberries and will most likely throw those in too. Pictures of that tomorrow.

Here is a photo of my lovely porch and the delightful sunlight that streamed in as I ate my breakfast yesterday and looked through the "mother" cookbook.

 This table is enamel and wood. I don't know if I captured it in the photo.

And who could not love this strawberry cotton tablecloth?
Pabu and Dalai enjoying the sunshine on the chaise.

And lastly, I made the most delicious crock pot dinner the other night and wanted to share it with you here. I would also like to re-create it again so writing it down might be helpful as I just pulled the whole thing out of my head. There is zero advanced preparation for this so it is simple as pie to make. I used all organic ingredients which for me, makes it extra yummy. It does not really photograph well. Looks like a pile of mush, but take my word for it, it was really good.

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1-28 oz can whole tomatoes with juice
1-15 oz can white beans
1/2 cup white wine
6 cloves garlic-peeled but left whole
1/2 onion sliced
4 ribs celery sliced-chopped
1/4 cup capers with some of the juice from the jar.
1-Tbls oregano
2-teaspoons fine herb
2-large pinches of kosher salt (I would guess almost 2 teaspoons) the capers are salty so add the salt afterward so you don't over salt it.

I don't really know the exact amount of oregano, fine herb, salt or pepper I added.

Put it all in the crock pot, give it a stir and cook on high for 8-10 hours!

I served this over brown organic jasmine rice! It was so delicious!!!

While it was cooking, the smell of it made me think it was going to be icky! We would have eaten it anyway, but I was not imagining it was going to be so delish!

Come over for some peach pie! See you tomorrow.

6 comments:

  1. try this link for tips on pattern resizing. not sure if it will have exactly what you want, but it is a place to start: http://www.sensibility.com/tips/how-to-resize-a-pattern/

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  2. Thanks Pixie...I have looked at this before...it seems way to detailed for this gal with ADD(attention to detail denial). But I know it is something I am going to have to learn before too long if I want to continue sewing vintage patterns. HELP!!!

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  3. If the belt doesn't fit, don't panic. I always end up adding a few inches to the belt pieces. Most of my patterns are a 26 inch waist and I am NOT a 26 inch waist, but due to wearing ease (and magic, probably) they almost always fit fine. Do a tissue fit of the skirt section and you might be surprised. If not,and if grading up is too difficult to figure out (it is for me) you might be able to play with the darts/pleats in the front to give yourself a little more breathing room. I love this pattern and I don't think you'll look like a nun at all. Not that looking like a nun is a bad thing, if that's what one is going for. ;) Good luck!

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  4. I always have to add to the waist on vintage patterns - they were meant to wear with girdles! I usually just split up the amount I need, and add 1/4 of it to each of the 4 edges that make up the waist. I've done up to 2 inches that way, and it turned out fine, though I wouldn't go more than that without doing some grading (ie adding width in the middle, not just the sides.)

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  5. I am a novice, too, and thus am reluctant to give you advice! You could trace the pattern onto pattern paper, add more inches to the waist (i.e. bodice sides) as stitchywitch suggests, then play with tissue fitting... I'm not a huge fan of tissue fitting, but it'll give you a rough idea.

    Wanted to say that opening your blog always makes me smile - your picture at the top is so sweet and happy.

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  6. I'm going to have to try this crock pot recipe...I love all of those ingredients. Sounds yummy! Just stumbled upon your blog and I love it!

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I appreciate each and every one of your comments. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me.

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