Some Sewing Has Been Accomplished

Don't have heart attacks! It is true, I did sew something, and it was all for my greedy self. I have had this idea rolling around in my noggin for a nursing shirt that needed to be born. However, I didn't know if it was going to work and I didn't want to spend money on it. So in steps a t-shirt top leftover from a previous project and some scrap knit fabric.




May I say up front that although I love these colors of blue and gray I am NOT a lover of color block shirts. However, as stated above, I didn't want to waste fabric on something that I wasn't sure was going to work. So I didn't.

So here's the finished shirt.




The pleating is very hard to see, but there are three pleats over each breast. Also, I'm feeling very self -conscious about the lack of hair styling, eyebrow grooming, and shirt hemming.





And now for the function part of the shirt. It's hidden in a pleat.




Don't worry, folks, it's a bra.

I made a few mistakes on this shirt. That's what muslins are for, right? I didn't make the pleats deep enough to lay smoothly over my bust. I am currently a 34F. The shirt looks better with this bra, my other bra has underwires and makes me, erm, perkier, thus spreading the pleats even more. I also miscalculated the amount of fabric needed and ended up putting in two strips, one on each side of the front. I think I over-fitted the top, I should have left it boxier for this look.

So let's see this sucker in action!





Not good enough? Well, how 'bout we double it up.





Not bad for about an hour's worth of sewing.

And now for a parting picture of my little girl.

Bathing Beauty

We slip into the bathtub, you and I,
the water warmer than it should,
because you like it like that.
I let you float
my hand under your head
and your body rocks.
We have done this before, you and I,
but tonight is different for you.
Tonight you come alive,
your limbs dancing,
looking like a synchronized swimmer gone
exuberant.
And I see the motions I felt
when my body housed yours.
Marvelous.
You soon tire and seek my breast.
I pull you close, let you suckle.
You float in the warmth,
new skin touching old,
gaining life from my body.
Is it like being in the womb?
Is it like being home?

Resolution Update

How have I been doing with my New Year's resolutions? I've been doing like this:

Start a blog, post often

I had a few dry months there at the end of my pregnancy but I think I'm back up to speed. Kind of. I still need to finish a few post, notably ones about bobby pins and a birth story. I also need to be better about posting pictures, because I've noticed the blogs that don't use pictures are the ones that don't get read. True story. But overall I would give myself the grad B+ for even getting this far.

Have a productive garden

I haven't done hardly anything for this goal, but The Hubby has been growing up a storm. We're staring to harvest the first greens from our garden and the future is looking bright. Dear friends of our are letting us use some of their spacious backyard to grow some of the more sprawling plants, the melons and squash. We're also planting massive amounts of tomatoes and green beans for putting up at the end of the season. So this goal is getting an A++++ for being so awesome. Even though it's not my doing.

Start a Montessori program with my son

I've petered out a bit on this. We're working on people skills right now instead of academic achievements. Not that he's not learning (that's an awkward phrase) but I'm not pouring all my energy into Montessori right now. I'm just learning not to scream at his screaming. Grade, a big fat F.

Stop caring so much what other people think

Except for the most recent chicken episode I feel like I'm making good progress in this area. And I feel happier for it. So, I think I deserve an A-. What do you think?

(ETA: Haha, "What do you think?" I didn't mean to be ironic.)

Be out of debt by the end of the year

Well, we have $4,000 left of student loans but we've had some unexpected hospital visits. Not that hospital visits are ever anticipated. Luckily The Hubby has been able to pick up overtime so we should be able to stay on track. He also received a $1,500 reimbursement from work for school so that will help, along with the fact that we're fast approaching our out-of-pocket maximum for the year with our insurance. Grade, A.

Eat healthier

I don't think we're doing too badly...now. We weren't doing so well at the end of my pregnancy, but I'm cleaning up my act. I drink 3-5 green smoothies a week, and BuggaBoo helps me. We also go through a ton of veggies a week: a head of cabbage, 3-5 lbs of carrots, broccoli, greens, etc. One thing that needs help is our bread consumption. A friend of ours gets day-old-bread from a local community center that can't use all their donations. She gets enough to share, which is so loving and kind. But it's white bread, and I can tell a major difference. Soooo, I need to stop accepting it, which is difficult. I have a very hard time saying no to food. Anyone else feel the same way? Grade, B.

Sew more

I attempted to draft my own bodice pattern from my measurements. It fit about as well as a commercial pattern. Moving on... Grade, C, for effort.

So, not too bad. How are you guys doing? Did you make resolutions this year? What, if anything, is hampering you?

I Need a Backbone

Tomorrow BuggaBoo is going to be babysat by a woman who has totally different discipline techniques than mine and isn't afraid to use them on other people's children.

Just for the record we don't physically discipline our children, reasons of which I'll go into on another post.

She offered to babysit and I felt I couldn't turn her down in fear of hurting her feelings. She would have asked why and blah blah blah. So because I didn't want to hurt an adult's feelings, which she should be fairly able to deal with it, I'm putting my son into a situation where he most certainly will have his emotions hurt.

Where did my spine go?!?

Update: I just called her with the very legitimate excuse that I needed to take BuggaBoo to Doozer's appointment because we suspect Doozer has thrush. Since I'm tandem nursing he'll need to be treated at the same time or else he'll just give it back to her.

I did call my mommy for advice, and I will be sitting down with my friend and explaining to her my unease about her watching my children. Ugh.

Fail!

So right now my life is not living up to my expectations. I mean, really, it's in danger of being grounded if it doesn't shape up. It came home the other day with a nose ring and some goth makeup and probably a venereal disease.

Doozer is sick, again. Well, she never really got better, but now it's gotten worse. We went to the doctor's today and were informed that she caught a cold but since her lungs have been damaged by the RSV and they haven't had a chance to heal the cold is really hitting her hard. I am now the proud owner of a nebulizer and some albuterol, to be used 3-4 times a day.

BuggaBoo does not have a bobby pin in his body anymore, but I haven't had time to update about that. However, he has been having some spectacular tantrums, mostly relating to nursing, not going outside when he wants to, and me zoning out on the computer. Thankfully they have been lessening, but screaming is never a good thing.

The Hubby, bless his heart, works and schools way too much. Both are vital to the health of our family unit, but I'll be happy when this chapter of our life is over.

So at this point my sewing projects are scattered, my sleeping is interrupted, I'm proud of myself if I remember to brush my teeth, I haven't attended church in six weeks, and my kitchen smells suspiciously like icky.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Sewing Advice Needed

Also needed, better post titles. I mean, yikes!

I've had the hankering for a new skirt but I don't want to cut into my nice fabric until my body stabilizes. So I found this pair of pants in my "Clothes to Recon" box that look like they'll fit the bill. They're a size 22W, have a partially elastic waistband, and are 41" (104 cm for those on the metric system) at the waist, unstretched. As I want to make a pencil skirt there will be plenty of fabric.

So this is my somewhat-dilemma: Should I cut a new waistband or use the one with the elastic in it? I'm leaning to using the elastic so the band will shrink with my body, but will that make the skirt look, I dunno, too homemade if I tuck in my shirts? Just so you know, since I don't have an pictures to go with this post, the elastic is only in the back, the front waistband is smooth.

Thoughts?

THE Question

BuggaBoo finally asked me The Question today.
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"Where did your penis go?"