I am back…for a bit :-)

Well…I have been gone for a while.

First….my dad had liver transplant surgery.

Then…I got sick (bad allergies + tiredness from helping mom/dad = sick)

So…though I have sort of worked on a bit of sewing nothing much has been accomplished in the past month—which includes absolutely no quilting.

But as I spring (pun intended) back into a routine, I will start today by finishing the seersucker shirt I began for my husband about a month ago and left sitting when the call came for my dad’s liver. Livers are kind of a “we have one for you……come to the hospital now” kind of things so you don’t really get to plan for it and life gets left undone for a bit.

Better than finishing my husband’s shirt or doing a great quilt I am looking forward to going this coming  Monday to  Florida for a Bra Making Class—hosted by the Ocala Sewing Guild (a chapter of the ASG –American Sewing Guild). Anne St. Clair will be teaching it and I am looking forward to going to it for the help in custom fitting my bra and getting my very own custom bra pattern—-sized to me :-) Yeah!

And though I have made a bra before, which is not as difficult as we all think it is, without a sewing partner it is not easy to fit yourself. Or without at least a mannequin. So the result is not much better than store bought….at least at first. Though some people seem to make it seem as if they get a fab bra from the very first one they try. Lucky them….not me though. Of course if I churned out bunches of them I am sure I would eventually get a correct one but since I can take this class AND get a custom pattern, why bother wasting all that fabric. Beyond that bra patterns come in the “size” you supposedly wear. Which is annoying to say the least. Because truthfully, based on my shopping experiences, I wear many  different sizes and none of them fits particularly well. It’s one of those: Cup fits…but band is a bit to big. Or: Band is great…cup is too small/too big and the next size up or down size doesn’t work either.  Or even this: Fits FAB….horribly horribly ugly bra. And according to everyone I speak to about this I am NOT the only one having these issues.

And the last word I have on bras is about the whole measurement thing of “take that number and add this or that number” to get your size. Bull. Doesn’t work. At least not for the build I have. According to most methods of measurements I would have either a AA cup or maybe a slight A cup….and I am no where close to that size. Not one bit. So…bra class here I come.

Lastly in anticipation of coming home next week and hopefully knowing how to really make a well fitting bra I have ordered some fabric from Fabric Depot. (www.fabricdepotco.com)  I had ordered some samples and a catalog and had been mulling over buying one of the value packs they offer in tricot, nylons, stretch lace, powernet and/or elastics.  I just could not decide for sure but then I stumbled on this web site: Sew Intriguing blogspot. I have linked you specifically to the part where she shows what she got in her value packs. However if you do a bra/lingerie/fabric depot (use any one of those key words) search in her blog she has a number of post about making some really cute bras, camis, undies etc. Well worth the look if this topic remotely interests you.

Anyway, after seeing her post I did order the nylon value pack (probably will get the tricot one in the future once I know more about picking lingerie fabrics) and the stretch lace value pack plus one other. I can’t remember if I got the powernet pack or the elastic pack or what. I did get a third one though. Plus I purchased plush back elastic (TOTALLY impossible to find anywhere near me) and some rings and strap elastic plus two pairs of underwires. I need to see how their wires run…choose the best pair…then order more of the correct size. Wires run different from manufactuer to manufacturer so, if like me you are kind of this size…but maybe that size…you have to double check the best fitting one then buy more. My box should get here tomorrow and I will make sure and take pictures and post them.

Well…need to get sewing today. Have a great Spring afternoon.

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