Phewwwwwwwwwwwww

I have been working on this post for 4 days now and just could not finish it. I have been trying to reacquaint myself with the sewing machine over the past couple of days, however some recent migraines have made it a bit less than what I had hoped for. I guess I might just face it..I have the winter blah's. I can't get motivated to do much of anything. Anyone else feeling this way? I seem to go from one thing to the next without accomplishing much of anything, Ugh! I keep telling myself that I will feel better tomorrow (I don't really feel BAD, just not much motivation and a headache)...and then tomorrow is here and then the next day.......

I daydream about my fingers gliding through fabric to the gentle rhythm of the sewing machine, but that is all it is...a daydream.

I have searched far and wide for a nice plaid wool to make hubby's shirt with and can't find ANYTHING I think he will like. My one hope is that on Monday I am going to 'a big city' and have heard there is an amazing fabric store there. I have it on my agenda to check it out and hopefully I will find something.

Now it is Tuesday and what a day it was yesterday. I had a 9:00 am doctors appointment in a city over an hour and fifteen minutes away. It was my day off and I was out of the house before 7:30. This is early for me, who works at night and is usually not out and about before 10:00.

I arrived at the appointment only to be told 'we don't accept your insurance'. Really? I called and asked both my insurance company AND asked you when I made the appointment. 'Sorry honey, we don't and it would be a self-pay if you would like to see the doctor.' Ugh! No!

She was actually very nice to me and felt horrible. Said I was the second one that day (it was only 9:00) who had the same problem! Okay...no big deal. I was just going to a dermatologist to have a skin exam.... Just time, gasoline and sleep were disturbed.

Now I was off to the 'fabric store' I have been hearing about for months. I mapquested the address from the doctors office and it was only 10 minutes away (ha) do you see where this is going? I followed the directions and there I was in the middle of a gorgeous residential neighborhood in Longmeadow, Ma. Nope...this is not Kansas, Dorothy!

This is the neighborhood I found myself in google map

Now I am one of only 5 people in the free world that does not have a cell phone nor GPS in my car so I had to use the old fashion way. Find a gas station or a nice looking person and ask directions. Guess what? This STILL works!!!! A cute women at a Mobil Station knew exactly how to get me to Osgood Textiles in West Springfield, MA....not Springfield, MA and NOT Longmeadow, MA. There was a rotary and a few mis-steps before I actually arrived, but it was all good. I was determined to find it. How jealous I became of Peter who has all these great fabric stores within walking distance of his NYC home.

When I walked in the store I felt as though I was on Project Runway and entering 'Mood'. Bolts of fabric up to the ceiling in all directions. There are 3 aisles of  just WOOL! My head started to spin (actually pound with a migraine), but I was happy. I was wishing hubby was with me to help me pick out the fabric for his shirt. Even with all that wool fabric, nothing seemed to pop out and scream...HUBBY! I strolled the aisles, back and forth for over half an hour. I kept thinking about Project Runway and how they only have that long to get EVERYTHING!

This is what I ended up with. Let me remind you of the pattern first:

 This fabric has a tad bit of something other than wool in it. The nice lady at the store did a burn test on it. She thought it was about 90% wool. It has a nice drape and I am looking forward to working with wool for the first time.

 

I will be adding lambskin elbow patches to this shirt as well. Look at all the colors to choose from

I also looked for some fabric this. 

I did not find anything there. All of their silk chiffon were in fall colors. I DID find a great site on-line called Printed Silk Fabrics and there are tons of well priced silks to choose from. I like this and this. But yesterday another blogger threw a wrench into the mix when she blogged about a just released Vogue Pattern. Now I am in a quandry and think I might make them both. I WILL also need a dress for the rehearsal dinner. What do you think? HELP. I also need LOTS and LOTS of help with fabric for both of these dresses. AND I need help with what to use for an underlining for the ORSINI. I really have no clue about this and all help and advice will be greatly accepted.

I plan on spending the rest of the day reading about matching plaids and how to make a shirt. I realized sometime yesterday that the pattern I have chosen for the MPB Men's Shirt Sew Along, does not have a placket. I am kind of bummed because I feel the look I am imagining needs one. What do you think? Let me remind you of the shirt I am trying to create.

Okay folks...this has been the Long and Winding Road of blog posts. Wish me luck, motivation and the alignment of the sewing stars.