Fiber Fool

I’m closing in on having lost a total of 95 pounds now. It has been a very slow year, but I think it has allowed my body to catch up a bit because there have still been significant clothes-fitting changes even though the scale has only budged a little bit. I am hoping to cross that 100 pound mark before DH gets home and would love to cross into the “Normal” category as well, but that could be a tad bit unrealistic. We’ll have to see if all the yardwork, gardening and rejoining the gym pick up my pace :-)

I did hold back some of my large clothes. There were a few things where I just really loved the item or the print and didn’t want to part with them. Before DH left I did some alterations on a few things. First up was a black and white linen sheath that was one of the first pieces of clothing I bought when I moved here to Fort Collins Memorial Day Weekend of 1999. When I bought the dress I was at my then smallest size as an adult. I remember being so excited to be buying an XL piece of clothing and not something plus-sized.

The beauty of sheaths is that they are classic so I decided to finally jump in and alter it to fit better. I used an existing woven shirt dress to guide me on where to put my new seam lines. The shirt dress has some stretch so I was generous in drawing my new seam lines. Though in retrospect a shirt dress is less fitted than a sheath so I really didn’t need to worry about that. I didn’t cut the fabric, instead I tried it on inside out after putting in the new seam lines and decided some areas needed brought in more so I put pins in to rough out the changes. I applied the changes to one side, then used it to match the other side. Again I didn’t cut, I just put the new seams in to the inside of my previous ones in case I needed make more changes. It was good, so I cut, pressed and finished the seam allowances. Overall I took out about 4-6″ in circumference depending on the area.

Here I am wearing it with a light weight cardigan, tights and boots. It was a cool spring day, but the white of the dress made the outfit still feel spring-like. I’ve since worn it with and without the cardigan but with heeled black sandals when the temps have been more summer-like. I’m so glad I hung onto this dress. It was always a favorite. Plus, for just a few yards of thread and less than an hour I have a new dress in my wardrobe!

This new button up tank top was from a short sleeve 1X shirt my mom had bought but never worn before she shrunk out of it. The sleeves were puffed, which isn’t a good look on me, so I cut them off and turned it into a tank. I used the above dress as a pattern for taking this in. This shirt also has some stretch like the shirt dress so I knew it could handle the more fitted silhouette of the top part of the sheath. I had originally planned to use the sleeves to make bias tape to encase the armholes. There was so little fabric in those short sleeves that I ended up with lots of seams in the bias tape so I scrapped that idea. Instead, I used used some 1/4″ double fold white bias tape to face the armholes on the inside.

This one isn’t quite as thrilling as the dress. Boy am I glad I did the dress first so I was enthused about altering/refashion! This one being a 1X resulted in the existing bust darts landing too low for me now (a little less so if I wear my “wow” bra). It is still totally wearable and I have a nice little red cardigan I can layer over it on cool nights or in AC which totally disguises the issue. Here I’m wearing it with my dark skinny jeans (which aren’t so skinny anymore and require a belt), but I could see wearing it with my navy pencil skirt and skinny red belt too.

Have you ever made drastic alterations to your clothing or thrift store finds? I may be a bit more motivated to troll the thrift stores now after these successes! I have a 4X linen big shirt from J. Jill that was always too big but I loved the striped fabric. I want to turn it into a sleeveless tunic of sorts. Because it is a big shirt it was meant to have generous ease so there are no existing bust darts to worry about. But, I don’t want the tunic quite that shapeless so I’m pondering if I could add in bust darts. That would make the front side seams shorter than the back though… :-/ Although maybe I can put in a bit of a split at the side seams and have the back be longer than the front? Anyone know of any good tutorials on making a split side seam on shirts?

I have another dress I want to take in, but the fabric is kind of slippery and it is another favorite from about the same time period as the sheath so I’m procrastinating on that for fear of ruining it. I have two knit skirts I need to hem yet and two - three other handmade skirts I want to try taking in at the side seams. Then I have fabric and supplies for two Laurels I want to dive in and do as well. Though I keep waffling a ton on what size is the right one to cut and procrastinating on making a non-wearable muslin. I also have a couple top ideas (and have the fabric for them), and the fabric and pattern for a fun tank top too. Now if I can figure out how to set up my space so I don’t have to take down my computer set-up to sew and my sewing stuff to work and I’ll be golden! I’m looking forward to having a refresh of my wardrobe for summer!

Yes, there is a small amount of knitting going on around these parts. This week it has mostly just been at knit night, sadly. But the project is moving forward, if at a tad slower pace than I’d like. It has also sparked some other ideas that are bouncing around in my head now. I love it when that happens!

What are you knitting (or crocheting or spinning) these days? Something seasonal? Getting a jump start on gifts (or finishing up belated ones)?

I’m hoping to get a bit of knitting done over the weekend, though my back/neck will dictate how much. Last week’s cold snap triggered a stubborn spasm that I haven’t been able to fully kick yet. I also have an upcycled sewing project in the works that I’d like to wrap up. Partly to finish something but also because once completed it should help with my back/neck :-)

Tonight though, the weekend will start with birthday celebrations to kick off DH’s next trip around the sun with after work drinks with friends at a swanky local bar followed by dinner at DH’s favorite Italian restaurant (I’m hoping to pre-burn those carbs with a run over lunch today, though I ran after work last night so I’m not sure how that will go with less than 24 hours between runs).

So, in addition to some knitting and sewing this weekend I’m also hoping to sneak in more lefse making, bottling the current batch of kombucha and starting the next, a nap or two, some reading and perhaps a movie. If the weather holds perhaps a trail run or a bike ride too (or some form of physical activity anyway)! I’m sure I’m way overestimating, but it is good to have options on what to do, right? Of course, some of those things can be multi-tasked.

What do you hope to do this weekend? Something fun I hope!

Yikes! I can’t believe how crazy it has been around here. Last week was a whirlwind with a less than 24 hour stay at a hot springs resort for a family reunion that required 7+ hours of driving and resulted in only 45 minutes in the hot springs - all smack in the middle of the week. It kind of threw off the whole week, with Monday being jam packed with things that needed done before I left for work and at home. Then Thursday was catching up on everything else that landed on my desk while I was gone which overflowed into Friday. I didn’t even take any pictures on the trip. It was too short and DH kindly pointed out I’d just hide behind my camera if I brought the big one, which is quite likely true since it was his family and not mine. Once we were actually able to leave it was a good trip, although a bit much work for too little time.

This weekend though was all about resting and relaxing - at least after a trip to our fav coffeeshop which also serves fresh made juice from local and organic produce followed by a stop at the farmer’s market. I’ve been feeling horribly run down. I think it is part heat and part allergies or maybe a sinus infection trying to take over. So I’m pushing the fresh veggies and fruits like crazy. And Saturday even included a nap!

Before all that, I had a wonderful girly day with Amanda in Denver. She had a very rare all-day yard pass. We started off as one of the first 100 at Fancy Tiger Craft’s 6th anniversary celebration where we got goodie bags. We also had no trouble spending the $25 to get a free tee shirt. I got some fabric for two shirts and a vintage 1940’s dress (a pattern Amanda scored for me earlier this summer).

Then we wandered down the street a little bit to an interesting cafe that had been recommended to us - The Sputnik. I had the Vegan Power Stack - quinoa cakes with lots of veggies, including kale, zucchini and avocado. Amanda had a breakfast burrito that she said was quite good.

Then we wandered back towards Fancy Tiger and stopped into their old location which is now a coffee shop and got some iced lattes. I love their cold brew coffee set up and am kicking myself that I didn’t just order iced coffee! Next time!

The last stop on the trip was to hit The Pavillions and the new to us, H&M store which I think is coming up on it’s 1 year anniversary late this summer or in the fall sometime. I learned I need to go shopping with others more often. I still think like my 22/24W sized self and would look at things and say “I’m not small enough to pull that off yet” and Amanda would grab it and tell me I was trying it on, LOL! For the record, she was right! The striped number above? A fitted t-shirt dress that did end up coming home with me.

I also got this navy pencil skirt above for under $10! And, it’ll serve as a template for making my own. We discussed some styling ideas and I was so excited I had to play around with it as soon as I got home. Which is your favorite? I think a lime or mustard skinny belt would be nice too in place of the red and I have shoes for those. My mom was just asking me about web sites for accessories, especially belts. Do you have any suggestions?

Don’t think I’ve forgotten about the chai cake donuts. It is nearly all drafted and should get posted at some point this week.

1. Some sequence geekery with chevrons!, 2. Whole grain, homemade, baked chai cake donuts! You can’t even tell they are sort of good for you :-), 3. A great breakfast for a hot Saturday morning - hard boiled eggs, Greek yoghurt, fruit salad (left over from Drew’s defense which he passed and I’m sure it was the fruit salad that did it, LOL!), and whole grain chai cake donuts! Delish!, 4. Still have hemming and top stitching to do. Not sure on skirt length yet…, 5. Fruit salad, Greek yoghurt and a skirt rub off project!, 6. My tab was less than my savings! Yay for the one day 60% off notions wall plus a 15% off total purchase coupon!!!, 7. Swapping out books! It was my first visit since the grand reopening after the remodel project. I need a map!, 8. Fish tacos! Yum!, 9. Iced latte!

If you’re on Instagram, I’m fiberfool over there, or if you aren’t on Instagram you can find my photos at instagrid.me/fiberfool.

What did you do this weekend? Anything fun? Eat anything yummy?

I have been most impressed as I’ve caught blog posts throughout the day today touching upon this topic. So many of you have done an amazing job of balancing achievable goals with really great concrete items that remind one that is summer and there are multitudes of things to enjoy about the season too! As I write this intro I do not know exactly where my list will end up, but you have set wonderful examples that I hope to strive towards. Because there is little more important in life than balance - of work and play, of laughter and tears and on and on.

Creatively:

1. I’d like to get my knitting mojo back. I’m still settling into the schedule and change of working outside of the house so a lot of my creative pursuits have fallen by the wayside as I try to balance work and working out - my top two priorities, but creative pursuits are really important to my mental health too so I need to start finding more ways to fit that into the already packed schedule. I have a few ideas floating around in my head, but no yarn to suit them and a lack of yarn shops open after work hours…The yoga sock has been picked up a few times this last week, so that is some progress!
2. Getting back my photography mojo would be good too! My phone has kept me capturing things here and there, but photographing the alpaca shearing in April was the first my dSLR had been used since February! And it hasn’t been used since! That is really sad. I think I’d like to start back up last summer’s tour of area parks and natural areas. Once a week might be a bit ambitious with the new schedule, but surely twice a month should be doable!
3. Sew at least 3 more skirts this summer. I have at least a half dozen I’d like to do, but this is about achievable goals, right? At least one of those three needs to be from scratch, not repurposing an oversized tee. Using stash fabric is okay though.

Actively:

4. Continue exercising 4-5 days a week! I kind of fell down on that this last week, for various reasons, but I’m getting back up on that horse tomorrow morning! I need to remember though to take it a bit easier on most Wednesdays when I’ve hit the gym hard on Monday and biked to/from work Tuesday and Thursday. But with the holiday I didn’t go yesterday so tomorrow will be like Monday, but with yoga after work too!
5. Bike to Vern’s! I know the distance is easily doable since it is shorter to ride there than it is to ride to work. But it is hillier and there is more riding in traffic and that riding in traffic is at points with very little shoulder. But I’m getting more confident in riding on the streets with each ride (I stuck almost exclusively to dedicated trails or very lightly used streets last year).
6. Really, start training to do a 5K come summer’s end. I’ve been procrastinating for a couple reasons. I’m not sure where to jump in on the Couch to 5K thing because I’m obviously not starting from the couch with the workout regimen I’ve been on. I’m also not sure how to fit it into my regiment. Biking to work days result in 700-900 calories of exercise depending on whether I leave work over lunch or not. At least two other days I really *need* to do weight training for a multitude of reasons. So what three days do I do the 5K training?? Also, anyone out there have a preference in iPhone apps for the training? I haven’t decided on one yet.

Nutritionally:

7. Get a healthier cake donut recipe that we genuinely enjoy. I’m not foolish enough to think a baked donut/doughnut is going to replace a fried bakery variety. But after two near flops from a healthy blog (edible, but not that satisfying or seeming like a treat) we finally had a batch that would successfully stave off a donut craving for a while thanks to this book. But I have some ideas to marry the prior healthier attempts with this successful one. Not that just baking the donut isn’t a big improvement nutritionally over bakery ones, but I think I can sneak in a bit more whole grain/fiber without sacrificing taste and texture. If I can do it with pancakes, I can do it with donuts, darn it!
8. Eat more greens! I go through phases with these. So instead of going whole hog until I’m sick of salads I’m going to try have salad 3-4 times a week. I might also dust off the blender and try to sneak in maybe 2 green smoothies a week too.

Fun:

9. Go on a movie date with DH twice a month. Last summer I think the movies didn’t really appeal. Somehow I went through most of 2011 without seeing a single movie in a theater. We’ve already been two so far, but there are few more titles we’ve been eyeing and it is good to take some time out and away from the house together.
10. At least once a month do something fun outside of the house with other people besides Monday knit night. Since starting work my socialization became exclusive to Monday knit night. I haven’t seen any of our other friends. I’m just home and awake so little I hate leaving. I hate dealing with any more traffic or any more strangers. Plus it seems lately a lot of the gatherings have been late week night things which doesn’t mesh with a 4:30 am wake-up call.
11. & 12. And since one should always find more fun things to strive for, I’m not stopping at ten :-) I want to up my reading again - 2 fiction books a month should be doable, especially since I often read while walking on the treadmill (though I’m doing less walking and more interval training these days). I want to enjoy our patio spaces. That is one thing I really miss about working from home - spending the majority of the morning outside on the west side patio and the later afternoon on the south patio once it was shaded by the garage. My favorite things to do on the patios was reading audiobooks and knit or read print books. I want to get back to that say maybe once a week.