I Was Knit Together In My Mother's Womb

Thankful Thursdays

Linking up with Carole to share thankful hearts on Thursdays in November.  I'm never quite sure how to narrow it down to three, though, since I really want to live a life which is thankful in all things.

I can't begin a post like this without expressing my thankfulness to God, who extends new mercies every day. I fail utterly in my humanity on a daily basis. A thousand graces are extended to me each day, undeserved... so I must extend mercy and grace to others.

That said, I have to be thankful even for the trials and difficulties in my life, since they are all an opportunity to learn, change and be challenged to be the woman that God wants me to be.

And, I am thankful for this day. I woke up this morning knowing I have  a plan for my life...a reason to take the brokenness that I was and I am, and turn it into something with meaning and purpose.

 

The Tale of Two Tops.

or

A Lesson in Line.

or

Which Top Makes me Look Pregnant?

According to Fashion Experts,

"A tailored cut accentuates your waist and enhances your bust."

"Baggy clothes will disfigure your shape."

"Going for clothes with vertical lines can help you define the top half of your body."

“A woman shouldn't wear anything that resembles a tent of any kind, because that makes her look bigger. Instead, what you should do is look for clothes that have great fit and structure.”

"Rule one of looking slimmer is to not fool yourself about your dress size! This applies if you tend to buy sizes that are too big as well as sizes that are far too small."

Last week, I finished two blouses.  I wanted a basic white tunic length blouse, and another more casual tunic top to wear with leggings or jeans on the weekends. I am amazed at how  these different styles can make a body look so differently.  You be the judge:

  
McCall's 5433. I made this tunic from a lycra stretch shirting that has some subtle vertical striping in the pattern.  I really, really love this shirt. The only modification I did was to change up the spacing of the buttons...they are paired in twos.

 

The second top is  McCall's 5943. Cute top, fun construction, interesting details in the pin-tucking and ginormous sleeves.

  I'm not sure that this was the best choice for me, though.

   

The neckline is waaaaay too big, the sleeves are not at all flattering. In fact, I look pregnant.  Maybe my daughter Meghan should be wearing this top. Since we're going to be grandparents again!

That's right, grand-baby number 4 is on the way!  And it's another boy!

 

 

 

 

 

It was cleanup time at our house this weekend. Outside, inside....a good nesting weekend, really. There is something about those last leaves falling that makes me want to nest.

  The gardens get raked, a room or two rearranged, and a chicken pie baked.

I was also caught dead in the act of knitting outside this weekend.

 
I'm hauling out the yarn and patterns to figure out what sweater I want to make next. But then I wonder what to do with all the other knit sweaters that I am not wearing.

 
 
A Sweater Auction?

Frog em? I'm never afraid to rip out a knit.

Charity ? What if that wool sweater gets washed and dried?

What DO you do with knits that you don't wear?

 
  

Do you think Birdie looks like Oprah?

Just wondering.
  
 

 

There's a whole new thing with Halloween these days, I think.  I grew up in an era where we were out of the house after dinner and didn't come back from Trick-orTreating until 9:00 at night!  In my town, if Halloween falls on a weekday, by the time I turn down my street after work, all of the Trick-or-Treaters have been long gone, leaving JR and I with three bags of candy to eat on our own!  Of course, the cool thing about being the candy-giver is that you get to choose your own favorites. ...you're not stuck with an apple or Dum-Dum suckers.

After we got home, the candy was dumped, sorted into piles, and counted. Then the trading began.

SO, here are my favorite questions to pose at this time of year:  What were your three favorite treats in your Halloween bag?

And what are the three treats that you would trade away?

Now, THIS is a skirt! The rouching, the godet, the slim fit. The imitation washed suede. I do believe I like the whole animal thing this season. Hmmm. Microsuede. What faux animal would that be from, I wonder?

   Vogue 8603  

 I made view  A  

The back detail:

 

The microsuede was surprisingly easy to sew, not so easy to pin. I love that this skirt is fully lined ( other than the godet) and it was a rather simple skirt to make. 

Will I make another one? You bet...already got it in the works, but I'll be doing a different view.

Happy Weekend!

 

 

Is there any good reason why I had to eat this at 9:30 this morning after a perfectly healthy breakfast of whole oats and an apple? Because it was in the break room. That's why.

Things are happening to my body that I don't like. The talk around the office these days includes the words  " hot flashes" and "tight"  (meaning clothes getting tight. As in expanding waistlines).

 
The accepted  theory around here is that women at our ages just naturally gain weight as our hot flashes increase and estrogen decreases. 

The consensus is that the reason I can't do up my pants button the last few weeks has nothing to do, really,  with eating birthday cake an hour after eating breakfast....it's strictly hormonal.

I started thinking about it, and decided to do a little "survey" around the office. Here's what I discovered:

( WARNING: THE IMAGES THAT FOLLOW MAY BE DISTURBING YOU. SIMPLY VIEWING THEM MAY MAKE YOU FEEL FAT.)

 

Oh, this isn't even the tip of the iceberg!  And you know what's even better?   I informally interviewed several men in the office. They don't hide snacks (well, except for one pastor, who shall  remain nameless...I KNOW you have snacks in your office and you don't share!). They don't keep treats on their desks.  They tend to pass up the apple crisp or muffins or ginormous cookie trays  that are in the break room.

So, ladies, I'm proposing that partof our problem may not be hormonal or age related...I'm guessing it could be office snack related.  And the fact that the fruit basket on the break room table is still full at the end of the week.

Excuse me while I find a Kit Kat.

 
 
 
 
 

Oh, Auntie Em!

The last several weeks have been like a dream!  Am I awake yet? Am I back in Kansas?

Let me explain. I've been doing much in the month, primarily working with a creative team to put together our church's  Christmas Worship presentation. What makes it exciting this year is that it is going in a very different direction than we have in the last 40 years. I'm creating in my sleep, for goodness sakes... singing, seeing, and hearing Christmas already for several weeks....that alone makes me feel like I'm on speed-dial! Not to mention I am energized with creativity right now, which makes it hard to even think straight!

JR had been away for a few weeks with work, and when he returned, we got busy on finishing our patio.

I am the most fortunate woman on earth. My husband can do anything! One of the best part about he and I being partners is our shared love of planning and executing projects for our home. And our passion for the home we create no matter where we live.  We do love working together and seeing a vision become reality....always in the most budget- conscious way....which is what makes it even more fun! Anyway, he built this patio out of job leftovers and close-outs. And the gardens are coming together with some super discounted shrubs and perennials from Home Depot and our wholesale nursery.  OH, it feels good to garden again!

This weekend, I have the opportunity to teach beginning knitting at a women's retreat. I'm very excited about it.  The knitting bug has hit a few of my co-workers, so It's been awesome to spend lunch hours with them, and to see how excited they are to knit something wonderful. I'm also  working on a beginning sewing class for the months ahead.

So, you might guess that with all of this planning , I've not spent much time doing!  But I do have some knitting and sewing projects to share very soon!

Until then, Check out this awesome website ( which my hairdresser shared with me)

http://kandeethemakeupartist.blogspot.com/

What will YOU wear for Halloween this year?
 
 
  

A Diva in Development.

Saturday, I had the distinct honor of serving at the pleasure of Miss Sofia.  Oh, seriously, the pleasure was all mine.  She is bit of a Serious Pants,though. She isn't going give up the affection that easily...  I have to work this girl to get a smile out of her!

  And finally?

 

That's right Sof, you can hold tight to your affections until you are completely comfortable with sharing. Self control is a good thing.

Not like BIrdie. The other Diva, who, within a matter of minutes of meeting Faith, my knitting friend, slept the entire afternoon at her side, in her lap, getting personal with her knitting.

"To enjoy freedom, we have to control ourselves."  Virginia Woolf

 

 

  

  

 

No doubt, our Fore-mothers were the first to drape with animal print.  And I am thankful for their keen sense  of style....were they predicting the fashion trends of the future? You know, it makes sense. We seem to be able to count on trends repeating themselves ( even those gawd-awful shoulder pads!).

  

This  is Hot Pattern's free download...the Cool, Calm and Cowl-Necked Top. 

It was SUCH a simple and fun top to make...I think it took me all of an hour and a half, if that. I made on Monday night and wore it on Tuesday, under a long black cardi. It has a very nice neckline, which is hard to see in the photo above....made with a lycra knit from Joann's. 

  It has a wide, self fabric band, which I shortened. The bodice nicely blouses over that band.  

I think I'll make another one! This is my adventure into animal print this season. I'm also working on a skirt that is a faux weathered suede. Vogue 8603.

  (No, I'm not going to wear the animal print with the animal skirt. Maybe Pocahontas would have done that, but not me.)

Do you remember being caught up in a trend? If you look back now, was it awful?  Which was your favorite fashion trend and which was the worst?
 

McCalls 2690 (out of print) view D, but tunic length.

 THIS is a great top. I made it with some jersey from Gorgeous Fabrics.  What do I love about it? It's a very flattering style, especially with the belt treatment high on the waist to emphasis the smallest part of the torso. In fact, the whole belt thing made a rather plain top into something special. It's gathered at both ends, and has three fabric loops sewn into each end. You wrap it around your waist, and attach the loops over three buttons that are sewn on the top, under the bustline.

close up of the belt:

 

LOVE this top...especially since when I wore it to work this week, everyone asked me if I'd lost weight!

Wish it were so. Oh, how I wish it were so. But it's not happening anytime soon, what with my Chicken Sandwich Obsession which started yesterday.

Have you ever had a Chick-Fil-A original?  Of course, if you live south of New York State, you probably have. 

Yesterday, at work, we had a very nice surprise. As a result of a relationship which had developed between our ministry and the Chick-Fil-A people over the years, we were extra excited to  know that they had opened a restaurant in Erie, PA. a while back.  Erie is about a two hour drive from us.

The word spread yesterday that the kitchen had Chick-Fil-A for lunch. How was it possible? I was all over it. So here's what happened:  Our kitchen guy met with the Chick-Fil-A  guy to pick up an order for about 30 people half-way. OH MY WORD that was such a good chicken sandwich!   So much so, that I can't stop thinking about that sandwich. 

 Last night, I came home to take care of the dogs, and had to grab a bit to eat before going back out for Choir rehearsal. In the back of my mind, I remembered Meghan telling me something about McDonald's having a Southern Style chicken sandwich....with pickles and mayonaise.  But I didn't really need another fried chicken sandwich, that's for sure. I ate some raw veggies at home while I was waiting on the dogs. Then I left the house.

My mantra began as I pulled into the drive-through. Grilled chicken salad and a diet. Grilled chicken salad and a diet. Grilled chicken salad and a diet.

"Can I help you?"

"ah, yes. Southern style chicken sandwich and a diet. "

"You want fries with that?"

What do you think?

And what do you think I'm having for lunch today?