Easing Back In

First I wanted to thank everyone for their kind words. It is amazing to me what a community can be built out here in cyber-space, and I appreciate everyone's words of comfort.

I really want to get back to "normal" and back to work on some projects again. I am not sure if I am up to the challenge of the wool suit, but of late I have been completely obsessed with Hot Patterns. I really, really love the videos that they have been putting up, and I find myself drawn to patterns that I wouldn't have been otherwise.

When the Marrakesh Drawstring Pants pattern first came out, my reaction was "Gah, drawstring pants! With pockets no less! Why not pair it with a nice, big tunic to look extra-pregnant?!?!" But then...I watched the video...and Trudy (who is no skinny-minnie, mind you) looked fantastic in them. She even (gasp!) allowed herself to be filmed from the back, and the fit was fantastic, not to mention, her shape is similar to my own. So....I had to have them:


One of the things that really sets apart the Hot Patterns pants pattern is the drafting of their back crotch curve. The curve is L-shaped, which gives quite the nice shape to a bottom. Because of my obsession with Hot Patterns, while I waited for my Marrakesh pants to arrive, I pulled out a discontinued pattern that I had and worked on it instead:


I purchased this pattern on Ebay well over a year ago and just never used it, but it has a nice shape to it. It does, however, have a very low waist and a totally straight waistband...no contour at all. Which is why I can't show you any photos of the muslin, because I put them on, and fwooop...they fell straight to the floor!!! I need to replace that straight waistband with a contour band. Because of the low waist, I don't even need to trim down the top of the pattern to accommodate it. I will tell you that I had to do VERY FEW alterations to make this pattern fit properly. Just a slight extension to the back crotch, and a very slight widening to the back leg. Other than that, I traced off exactly the size, both front and back, that was recommended by the measurement chart. So the waistband is the only problem with the muslin. I will trace off a contour band from another pattern, and put together a final pair. And that L-shaped curve? Does as advertised.

I also bought the Uptown Downtown Knit Dress:


I had purchased a length of the Vera Wang merino wool jersey from Fabric.com when it was all on sale, but when it arrived it was more like a sweater-knit than a more fluid jersey:


So I thought that it would be a nice fabric for this dress given the description recommends anything from silk jersey to sweatshirting. For a muslin, I have grey RPL knit that is about the weight of a light sweatshirting that should work just fine:


Yes, I know they are both grey. And yes, I know that no one needs two identical grey dresses. But since the merino will only be appropriate for fall and winter, I will make it with long sleeves and will make the muslin with short sleeves so that it can be more transitional. Also, don't forget to check the videos! (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and the Styling Video).

So, this will give me something not too difficult to occupy myself with and try out some patterns that I wouldn't have otherwise, so kudos to Hot Patterns and their videos, because otherwise I would have passed those baggy old pants right up!