Sewing Plans

I had packed away my sewing projects at the beginning of the year in order to take care of my husband. I had no second thoughts or regrets about it. Sewing just didn't take precedence.

Now, thanks to my husband, I find myself shopping for patterns and fabric because he has decided that we are taking a short trip at the end of July. I will admit that I tried to go shopping for clothes and just couldn't find anything that was flattering. So, here I am to share some quick sewing plans. 

The first stage of our trip will be spent on the road. I will need clothes that are comfortable for driving and getting in and out of the extreme July heat, if need be. For this stage of the journey, I'm going with a sheer dress over a bodysuit. Basically I'll be wearing yoga pants and a tank top with the added style of a sheer dress..... so athleisure in hiding. Lol. I haven't decided on a pattern for the dress but Simplicity 8648 gives a good example of this look.

~ Simplicity 8648 ~

Another outfit that I will need is a nice blouse and skirt combo. I really like the crossover blouse with puffy sleeves that was popular with fashion bloggers last summer. I think it would look lovely paired with a long pencil skirt. Again, I'm not set on patterns but I really like McCall's 7627 for the top and Burda 6469 for the skirt. I especially like this skirt pattern because of the big pockets.

~ McCall's 7627 ~

~ Burda 6469 ~

I'm sure that I will want other clothes as well, but that's as much as I have planned for now. Wish me luck and please continue to keep my husband in prayer.

I hope that all of your sewing projects are going together like a dream.

Until next time, 

Happy Stitching!!

~*~ Let's Connect ~*~

~*~ FaceBook ~*~ Instagram ~*~ 

~*~ YouTube ~*~ Pinterest ~*~

~*~ BlogLovin' ~*~ Twitter ~*~
~*~ Pattern Review ~*~

Asking for Prayer

I generally don't write about personal family matters on this blog because it is strictly a sewing blog. However, there are many people in the internet sewing community that I have come to be fond of and I wanted to share our situation and ask for prayer.

My husband was sick over the Christmas (2017) holiday with a stomach bug. We didn't think that it was anything major except that after it was over, he never fully recovered. He suffered from dizziness, heart palpitations, shortness of breath and felt like he was going to pass out at random times.

In January (2018) he went to the hospital on two separate occasions. Both times the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him. Even the family doctor couldn't find anything so he was referred to specialists.

After going through a lot of blood work and so many scans they diagnosed him, in February, with Stage 3 Melanoma (skin cancer). The dermatologist that examined him found no signs of Stage 1 or 2. From what I have been told, Stage 1 & 2 are on the skin and can be seen. Stage 3 is when the cancer goes inside the body. In this case, into his lymph system. Specifically he had a swollen lymph node on his neck that, when biopsied, showed the presence of pigmented skin cells.

After more blood work and more scans they changed his diagnosis to Stage 4. The cancer was not localized, it had spread throughout his body.

Because of the nature of his diagnosis, surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are not options for him. His current treatment options are immunotherapy. The principle idea is to raise his immune system so that it will fight off the cancer.

My husband has always been relatively healthy. Over the years he has struggled with fatigue but that is so common in our society that he just took it as a matter of course. Being a foodie, he battled with his weight and spent a good amount of time in the gym. We never had any idea that we would find ourselves in this situation. We saw no warning signs.

As for me, I've invested all my time in helping him. On his good days he gets up, dressed, cooks, and runs errands without any help from me. These are my favorite days. It's as if he isn't even sick. On his bad days he can hardly make it out of bed or eat anything. At one point he needed me to take him to his appointments in a wheelchair. Thankfully, he has had more good days than bad. Please join me in prayer that his good days continue and get better.

Thank you for your time in prayer,
Jessica and family

New Year's Resolution

I'm really excited about my resolution for this year. I think this will be a productive year for my sewing. I'll try and make loads of fun things to wear and my chosen garment projects will, overall, represent the best of me...... well, that's the plan anyway. Hahaha

Ok, seriously, here's my list:

1. Create a Full Outfit Each Month. This is the same goal as last year except I'm excluding the accessories this time. Store bought accessories just made the challenge more difficult than it needed to be, especially when it came to shoes. Last year I did well in the first few months but then really slacked off. I totally failed to create awesome footwear. I do, however, still have three espadrille wedge kits. I could use them to easily whip something up in the coming spring and summer months.

2. Use Stash Fabric and Patterns. I'm sort of on a buying freeze. I'm hoping to really work through the things that I have already. One day I hope to have all my fabrics hanging in my closet as a finished, wearable wardrobe. Oh my, wouldn't that be fantastic!!

3. Sew To Style Myself. This is totally new for me this year. I've been struggling for the last few years to figure out what my style is and what looks flattering on me. This isn't something that is all consuming but it is a struggle when I am trying to figure out what to sew each month. Over the course of last year I analyzed my features and coloring and have figured out a few things; I'm have a Rectangle (more specifically a cornet) Body Shape, my coloring is Deep Autumn, and I have an Oval Face Shape. Thankfully other people have figured out all the terminology and I just had to figure out what "box" to style myself in. Thankfully, I'm fond of all the styles and colors. I just have to put it into practice.

I need to make a binder of croquis, or sketches, of my outfits!!

4. Wear My Created Garments. I have a serious problem with wearing the things that I sew. Apparently, I don't want to mess them up so I hang them in the closet and there they stay. I'm hoping that Goal 3 will really help me with Goal 4. My first step is to make a binder of croquis, or sketches, of my outfits. That way I can just "assign" myself a Me Made outfit and wear it each day. I seriously need that sort of thing. I just mindlessly get dressed in whatever happens to be at hand, not even thinking about the garments that I have made. I will certainly never be mistaken as a "fashionista".

I hope that all of your sewing projects are going together like a dream.

Until next time, 

Happy Stitching!!

~*~ Let's Connect ~*~

~*~ FaceBook ~*~ Instagram ~*~ 

~*~ YouTube ~*~ Pinterest ~*~

~*~ BlogLovin' ~*~ Twitter ~*~
~*~ Pattern Review ~*~

5 Questions, 1 Take Video

Thanks so much to Elizabeth (Elizabeth Made This) for tagging me and and to Lisa (And Sew On) for starting such a fun tag. I've really enjoyed watching all the other seamstresses who have taken part. If you haven't joined in yet, I'm officially tagging you now. I can't wait to hear your answers.

Thanks so much for watching. I hope you enjoyed this short video. It was really hard for me to keep it short in one take. I did my best and I think it went ok.

Elizabeth's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ8EXoVywtkSX5MMkzginpg
Lisa's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDkntjY4mu6dygPSDor1k3w
Favorite Pattern: Butterick B5917

I hope that all of your sewing projects are going together like a dream.

Until next time, 

Happy Stitching!!

~*~ Let's Connect ~*~

~*~ FaceBook ~*~ Instagram ~*~ 

~*~ YouTube ~*~ Pinterest ~*~

~*~ BlogLovin' ~*~ Twitter ~*~
~*~ Pattern Review ~*~

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."