Wedding Dress Emergency

What do you do when you ordered your dress months ago and the week before the wedding you are dieting like crazy and miserable? With the zipper 4 inches down the dress fit wonderfully. The zipper with the tang down stayed securely in place, so we could work with that. When I googled for help, the answer was create a corset tie in replacement for zipper. Instead I made a triangle fill-in, bowed it for camoflauge, used bra extension package and sewed it in at an angle...so bride could get in and out and felt comfortable enough to give hugs. Everyone said it looked great, intentional, beautiful. Congratulations!


I've been making some festive bow ties for the season! Love this red on red damask print. So handsome!

What I Am Loving/Doing

This Antropologie sweater-jacket made me sigh and wonder, "How can I make that?!" Love the bias cut ruffle closure with buttons. Yummy.
Spent too much time researching Cat poses for a client. He is very bendable, I've noticed. Got disracted by cute fashion blogs and art blogs. Drooled over sweaters.
And I watched the snow. Beautiful day.

Fabric is My Friend!

No pictures of recent gift-making, until the big reveal next Saturday...It has been fun to be creative, using what we have, using stashed supplies and thrifted sweaters. I have illusions of grandeur being a fashion designer...Suzu was a patient model for something that will fit a sister...no peeking!

What to Do With Sweater Parts

My daughter is coming home in two days. Her bed is transmogrified into a project holding tank. Must. Clean. Sewing. Room.

I start early in the day with great intentions, but I keep getting distracted with projects...fun things to make. A whole pile of potential gifts and time running out...

Throw nothing away, when altering sweaters! You can create your own cowl!

Pretty cool/warm cowl scarf inspiration that I had to try!

Playing with Photo Effects

I was playing with tilt shift uploads--making things look miniature. Did some of this last year. But it lead me to glitterboo site. Fun to play with easy animation!

Altering Sweater Finds

Tis the season-for sweaters!

The blue 100% silk sweater ($2.48 at my favorite thrift store) used to be a turtleneck. Now it is a crew neck, very wearable. It was easy to cut off the offending neck and sew with matching thread.

I tried Day 13 from this blog inspiration, and Suzanna liked it! Take a white/off white sweater and sew couplets of lace on the shoulders. This is my favorite alteration, so far.


Imagine this without the silver turtleneck (the bottom half of the silver sweater turned into a bolero for a dance jacket---must get a picture of that on the beautiful model to show you!

I tried Day 15 with a nice ocher polar fleece sewn to the hem and neck of a yellow bolero and left longer piece to wrap around neck-super cute-and then made another ochre scarf, loving the organic leaf-look.

Un-coupled, Briefly

Every Sunday I go to his class. I sit in the front row. I watch him as he moves back and forth, writes on the board. I even think romantic thoughts about him.

He is a great teacher. He is good at facilitating discussion. He always bears his testimony at the end, and if the bishop is in his class, or the stake president, turns time over to them to share their thoughts.

I like being with him. My world gravitates around him. He grounds me. I remember feeling glued together during our wedding reception in SLC and the open house here. Side-by-side. A good feeling. You look for one of us, you find the other close at hand. United. Together. We like being together. We chose this relationship. When our children all grow up and leave for their own home-creating, there will still be plenty to talk about, plenty of "UMPF" left to enjoy. I know this to be true.

Today I will miss him. The Primary needs help both hours. They are pulling their regular teachers out to do inservice. Which I am a big fan of--I know how much it helps me to go to my teacher-training meetings for seminary.

John will teach his class, then come down and join me, sitting with the under 12 students.

And then he is taking Max to the first Lessons & Carols in Baltimore-so he will be gone the whole afternoon & evening. For years he signed us up together to usher, but I feel like I need to stay home with the younger children, prep for seminary this week.

And make the most of the 5 minutes we have together today!