I'm Sick

I want to thank everyone who chimed in with comments on my frumpy blouse. Everyone was so nice. I asked for brutal honesty because that's what I needed. Many of you made great comments that makes perfect sense now. I think Debbie hit the nail on the head when she said, "Poly jacquard screams 1980s and/or drapes to me." I've probably had this fabric around since the 80's. I knew not to use it, but it was the exact color I wanted and it was already paid for. This was a real learning process for me. Others mentioned that it was an OK blouse, just not in that fabric. So, I've decided to give it one more go-around with the following changes: shorten the sleeves and make the sleeve puffy at the sleevehead and hem. I will also make the pleats over the bust change their direction, opening from the center instead of the side. I like the idea of piping. That too will depend on the chosen fabric. Since I'm shopping my stash these days, I'm sort of leaning toward these fabrics:


The top one and the lower left are poly crepe blouse weight fabrics. The red one on the right is a rayon challis which has some weight to it but I may not have enough. The black one will fit best into my current wardrobe and is the one I'm leaning towards. The rust matches my new jeans perfectly.

None of this is going to happen this week. I'm sick with a very sore throat and a cough. I'm trying to stay in bed most of today, but I was tired of being in bed. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to attend an ASG neighborhood group to teach pants alterations. I hope I feel better by then. Last month I taught bodice alterations including the FBA to the same group. They got real excited about sewing for themselves. It was so encouraging to see so many women want to sew for themselves. I hope some of them tried to do alterations and bring in what they made. I'd love to see what they accomplished. Teaching people stuff they actually want to learn was so much fun compared to teaching English to 8th graders who would rather be doing anything else than learning about literature and grammar. I think I've truly found my calling. I just wish teaching sewing could pay as much as teaching middle school English.