SSS Day 7

Wore these yellow pants to the store and hanging out at home this evening. The cotton fabric is very comfortable but wrinkles easily. Vogue 8584. Very easy to make.

SSS Day 6

Oh dear, I'm not sure I really want to look like this! I think I need an extreme fashion make-over! I like the comfort of this linen skirt I wore to the office today, but it's not very attractive, is it? The skirt is from a 1970's Perry Ellis pattern. I'm almost finished making a new dress that I hope will look a bit less dowdy.

Self-Stitched September Day Five

That oh-so-loose-fitting blue knit top was so comfortable I slept in it. It was still comfortable this morning, so I've worn it all day. Definitely could not be called elegant, but there's a lot to be said for the idea of comfort before fashion.

Self-Stitched September Day Four

The blue cotton knit fabric stretched way more than I thought it would when I cut out the pattern. As a result, I ended up with gaping neck and arm holes, and it tends to have wrinkles across the front unless I stand up really, really straight. It's unwearable in public unless I wear a jacket or shirt over it. Works fine for hanging out in the house or garden. Just now, I'm preparing to wear it to the grocery store, so I threw the white shirt over it.

Self-Stitched September Day Three

Vogue 7612 top.

I'm wearing it to the country today. It's not very attractive, but it's ever so comfortable and certainly decent enough attire for Taco Cabana, where I'll probably stop for dinner on the way back to San Antonio, either in Seguin or San Marcos, depending on the route I take.

Self-Stitched September Day Two

I wore my wearable test garment today as I worked in my home office , but I put on something else when I went to the office. The jacket I made is fine, but the white linen skirt I wore with it (which is really the only thing I have that the jacket goes with) is amazingly unflattering. It's cut on the bias, and the upper front part of the skirt has stretched and bags down under my stomach.

Part of the problem is that the skirt is too loose in the waist, so the waist band sits an inch or so below my actual waistline. I think I may be able to fix the problem by opening the waistband and inserting elastic. I don't have a lot to loose, since I would not want to wear the skirt in public as it is now. At the very worst, I'll end up with another skirt to wear while working in the garden. Being linen, it breathes well, and being white it reflects sunlight.

Self-Stitched September Day One

I have joined Zoe's Self Stitched September by pledging to wear at least one garment I made myself every day of the month. I've only been sewing for a few months and don't yet have any tailored suits. I have a couple of things suitable for wearing to the office, but most of what I have is more appropriate for wearing while working in the garden, hanging around the house, or going to the grocery store.

Today's self-made garment is an unlined cotton print flared skirt with roomy side-seam pockets. It breathes nicely in our still-very-hot September weather, doesn't show dirt readily. Perfect for working in the garden. Here I am taking a rest in the court yard.

... and here are the guinea fowl and hens who hang out in the garden with me, along with the border collie dog and tamed feral cat (is that a contradiction in terms?). The cat is actually living inside for the time being. When she turned up in my garden one day, I had no idea she was old enough to be pregnant, but she's now quite swollen in the middle with kicking babies. 

I truly lead a double life -- one as a somewhat intellectual tax lawyer and the other as a barefoot gardener and chicken herder who sews. Oh! I almost forgot. I'm also a writer. A novel I wrote with my husband Damien Broderick has just been relased: Post Mortal Syndrome, and of course there's my self-help tax book, The Taxpayer's Life Preserver for people who are in trouble with the IRS.