Day 6: Muslin Madness!

Here is a brief overview of my day:

Cut. Cut. Pin. Sew. Cut. Sew. Cut. Pin. Shimmy. Oof, my head's too big. Shimmy. Riiiip. Pin. Heh, not too bad. Nip. Nip. Nip. Pin. Sew. Shimmy. Riiip. Mark. Mark. Tape. Cut. Tape. Ooooh, ranch dressing!

I finished the muslin for the major dress pieces. And so far, not bad! As usual, it was loose and baggy on the top but skin tight on my hips and seat. So I had to decide: alterations? Or should I shell out the $7000 for a boob job and another $5000 for lipo around my butt so it would fit properly? While the latter would probably be a lot easier (and could open up a career in the exotic dancing arts!), given my limited budget the former was the plan.

I'm going to spare you the semi-pornagraphic pics of me in the muslin while I was nipping and pinning (there are some things NO ONE will pay to see). But here's my list of the alterations:

• Narrow the front by about 1/2"
• Narrow the back by 2" on each side, by the zipper (I'm not kidding. I must be the most disproportionate person ever)
• Add 1" to each side around the hips

My living room was so clean and tidy from my parents' visit last week. Unfortunately, this is my new reality:










But the upside is, I get to cut into my fabric! And also, there is now a fighting chance that I will actually want to wear this dress when I'm done. Here's the fabric:

You can't really see this in the picture, but the beige-y thread is slightly metallic so it has a little sparkle. I think it's going to look really nice.

This week's plan is to hit Jo-Ann's to pick up another 1.5 yards of my linen and also to pick out some cute matching buttons (it has a faux side panel). Then I am going to cut into it. With any luck I will be done in 2 weeks' time.

Without luck, however, I will have a lot of fabric to make many turquoise linen bags.

The OTHER thing that I'm super excited about is taking some design lessons. My friend D told me about some sewing lessons that she'd taken. I went to the website, and the level 2 class sounded like what I wanted - beyond the basics, but geared for those who wanted to be able to Figure Things Out. I tagged along to their open house last night and had the opportunity to chat with the owners of Brush Factory. Furthermore, I am looking forward to it even more because D is going to take it too! So hopefully she won't get annoyed with me when I whisper to her for the 500th time, "Psst, pin WHERE?"