Slopers and Steroids

The results of Mr. Dude's dedicated measuring of his wife:

Here we have both a pants and a shell fitting pattern, complete with seam allowances -- what?!? That's right. Pattern Maker includes seam allowances in their computations, which excites me more than I care to admit.

Stoked.

So, 'member that time when I said I was off to buy muslin and a printer?

I lied.

I managed to get as far as printing out the patterns. I won't put in writing exactly how I managed, but I did. However I still don't have the proper fabric to bust these out.

We've had some... well, interesting issues lately with a next door neighbor who is experiencing a bit of corticosteroid-induced paranoid psychosis. And by "corticosteroid-induced paranoid psychosis" I mean literally. Not in the figurative sense you might be used to. Not like when you're all, "What's up with my boss lately? She's totally got a case of corticosteroid-induced paranoid psychosis. Jeez."

Nope. Not like that.

I mean like when you're all, "What's up with my next door neighbor using a sledgehammer to manually disassemble his garage all Sunday afternoon, then glaring at Mr. Dude demanding, 'Do you know who I really am???', jumping in his SUV and racing it at 140 mph off the nearest freeway on-ramp into a ditch, getting cut out of said demolished SUV with the jaws of life, then escaping the emergency room with a compound fracture in his arm and six broken ribs against doctors' warnings, removing the cast and stitches himself during a bout with insomnia, then telling Mr. Dude that if he ever feels like helping him take the rest of the stitches out to just go ahead and knock on his door whenever? Seems like he's got a case of corticosteroid-induced paranoid psychosis. Jeez."

So I've been a bit jumpy around my house lately, is all.

Hopefully I can tackle the fitting shell and pants sometime soon. And hopefully my neighbor doesn't find another SUV to use.

Procrastinate much?

Yes, I lag.

And, yes, I stress about lagging. But enough already!

I will shove the neurosis down to show you:



Which is supposed to come together to make this:



How, you ask? I don't know.

I spent the better part of Furlough Friday installing padding on my work table so I can iron big pieces of fabric instead of figuring out how to actually make this thing exist. My hands are permanently clutched into claws from stretching layer after layer of flannel and stapling like a crazy person rather than drafting the mock-up to this coat. There may have been an over-abundance of coffee involved.

I also realized that I've never made a sloper for myself, which I think anyone who sews for themselves will tell you is an absolute must. I'm a rebel. I like doing things the hard way. Some might say, the impossible way. I feel like I learn more this way. Har har.

And this weekend was spent in Palm Desert, so there was much more of this:



...than designing and sewing going on.

Seriously, though, my next post will prolly be about boring slopers. I just think emerald green silk and SUPER scratchy double pinstriped wool are much more fun to look at. And Mr. Dude and Pearl in their Fourth of July glory, also. And, since I'm still setting up my basic tools for this project, I've decided not to start the clock yet.

Neener neener,
Ms. May