I did something this week that completely shattered my sense of self. You know when you think "I'm not the kind of person who _____." I thought that about myself and I was wrong. I recently saw an old classmate of mine and I had remembered someone had mentioned to me they thought she was pregnant. When I saw her she was still very petite but had a acquired a small belly. You can see where this train wreck is going. I asked her if she was pregnant. The answer was a really defeated "no, just gained some weight." This is why you never ask. I thought I was the person who never asks. Let this story be a lesson to you.

The thing is, I can relate to her. I've gained some weight. Luckily, no one has asked me if I'm pregnant because you don't grow babies in your ass, but still. But this is life and while it is frustrating it is even worse to not have any clothes fit and to tear through your closet every day in a fit of rage. It's punishment. It's like when you're stressed so you get a zit and then feel worse about yourself. 

So, I have a plan. Eat healthy and exercise and all that crap but in the meantime, make some clothes for the summer that I can feel good in. I went to the fabric store with some ideas and came out with an arm load of fabric. The hope was to make some co-coordinating separates.

Here we go:

One of my biggest pet peeves is the feeling of the hem of your shirt slowly making it's way up to your waist to be a horrible bunching mess. The bodysuit is the perfect solution. I plan on starting with two short sleeve options to wear with skirts and shorts. I'm so glad that Heather from Closet Case Files released this pattern. It was like she heard my uncomfortable prayers.

It is no secret that I love knit dresses. The Lady Skater is my new love. I have already made a purple one that I will blog soon. Despite the kind of sloppy MS paint graphic, it's such and easy and flattering dress to wear. I plan on making a short sleeve short hemmed version for hot weather in this blue organic cotton jersey.

Of course there is a Sewaholic pattern in the list. I'm such a huge fan. The patterns are always so flattering and fit my body type so well. I love a good full skirt. I'm making this up in a light purple chambray at the moment. I'm thinking this coral linen will also make a nice short summer skirt. 

I love culottes more than is reasonable. These are the Tania Culottes from Megan Nielson Patterns. I'm such a fan of wearing something that looks like a skirt but not having to worry about the logistics of one. This way I can ride a bike and roll around on the grass without being so immodest. This is a black and white graphic rayon. I feel like rayon is supposed to be bad somehow, because it's cheap but I really like it.

This linen/cotton blend is the wild card. I was smitten with the neon pink polka dots. I originally thought I would make another Hollyburn skirt out of it but now I'm wondering if I should go for a fun mini skirt.

What do you think? Also, have you ever put your foot in your mouth?

This evening I sat down at my computer and hoped that my partner had uploaded my new photos onto the computer. It's not that I don't know how to do it myself, it's that it's one of those tasks that is "his job" and I have somehow lost the will or inclination to do. This goes both ways. One of my jobs is food preparation. I came home once and he was so proud that he had managed to make himself some trail mix out of the baking ingredients he found in the cupboard for a snack at no point realizing that we had trail mix on the counter. I swear we are both relatively smart people. I imagine this is part of the slow progression to being an 80 year old who doesn't know how to use the phone. Concerning, but perhaps also beautifully dysfunctional.

So, the good news for me is that he did and I didn't have to feel weirdly lazy about putting off posting for another day. 

This is the Alma blouse from Sewaholic Patterns. I made this blouse a few months ago out of some leftover fabric I made a Cambie dress out of. I made it as a mulsin to test out the pattern and then forgot about it in my closet. I was able to make a size 8 without any alterations with a really great fit. I was able to pull this over my head so I skipped inserting a zipper. The tie belt pulls the waist that little bit extra but can be loosened after big meals. 

I grabbed this out of the closet the other day and realized that I really love this blouse. The fabric is beautiful but I also really like the fit and comfort of this top. It feels perfect for getting a little more pulled together after a day at the beach. In a cotton voile it's perfect for summer. This is now on my to-sew-again list.

Do you have any jobs that you have lost the ability to do? Should I be worried I don't know how to turn on my TV?

If you have read my blog before, and you probably have because you are likely my sister, then you've seen this dress before in purple. This is actually the first version I made. This is the Tiramisu pattern from Sewing Cake. I mentioned previously that I ended up with a dress that was too big by following the patterns sizing system. I ended up being able to adjust by unpicking some seams and bringing it in under the bust and along the side seams. The fabric is a bit on the light side for this pattern as it shows off the style of underwear I'm wearing if I'm not careful. I do like the stripes though. The pattern has lines to help you line up your stripes which make things really easy. This dress has been relegated to the wear around the house pile but I am definitely keeping my eye out for a heavier weight striped knit to try again.

I love a good deal. When I see that sunglasses are on sale for $5 I buy four pairs. This is probably not a good thing and I've had to learn to stop and think about if I really need another 4 pairs of sunglasses (the answer is yes). My partner always reminds me that in Vancouver we pay for space, and even if something costs 5 cents we pay a lot more a month to store it. 
I bought this American Apparel dress in one of those moments. I think it was on sale for $10 and I had it in another colour already and wore it a lot. It was completely white though and because it's a dress I usually wear at the beach it got really nasty every time I wore it. 
A couple years ago ombre stuff was really in so based on a photo of some ombre dyed tights I saw online I decided to dip dye this dress so it would hide stains. I mixed some Dylon blue dye in a large pot and carefully clipped my dress to a hanger and then suspended half the dress in the pot for a while (maybe 30 minutes?) and then let it hang up outside without rinsing the dye to try and get a saturated effect on the bottom. This didn't really work. The colour is fairly consistent throughout. I then attempted to rinse the dress and in the process got dye on the top half of it making some light blotchy tie dye kind of situation. I became frustrated, let it dry and left it in the bottom of my laundry basket for 2 years. 
Since most of my clothes just don't fit right now, I became desperate. I washed this dress with a bit of vinegar to set the dye and threw it on. It's not the dress I hoped for but it works for biking to the beach and getting sandy and sweaty...so attractive. 
Some things I learned:

• Timing and checking on clothes in dye is probably important
• If you want an ombre effect, it is probably best to submerge the part to be dyed briefly and then hang it up so that it doesn't saturate
• I should set the dyed parts of the garment before rinsing it to avoid dye on the white parts
• Leaving something in the laundry basket for 2 years leaves intense wrinkles in a garment