Hellloooo again!

I haven't posted in like two weeks, because it's been a busy couple weeks for me - let's see...we're going on a trip in a few weeks to the States; I have been paying for the various elements of the trip, like the rental car, hotel rooms, etc., a little at a time, to spread the cost out.  Two weeks ago, I was going to pay the last major expense, long term parking at Heathrow, when I got it into my head to check the passports.  No idea why I decided to check them, but I did, and as it turned out THANK THE MAKER THAT I DID.  Kiddo The First's passport expired May 2016.  WHOOPS.  Glad I noticed it NOW as opposed to at the airport!!!  That would have been a very expensive mistake.

We did the whole deal of going to the embassy in London, etc, to get her a new passport, and now we are waiting for it to come in the mail.  We should get it this week, so please keep your fingers crossed for us.

In addition to the stress of the passport, I've been having fun with the doctor.

For the last few years, I've been having problems with my hearing.  If there's any kind of background noise, I basically can't hear you unless you're speaking directly into my ear.  If you are turned away from me and speaking, I can't hear you, even if there's limited background noise.  Recently, I have been straining so hard to hear Kiddo the Second, I've been getting headaches.  It also irritates the Husband, because I'm constantly asking him to repeat himself.  I just can't hear him.  So anyway, I finally got fed up enough that I made an appointment with the GP, and lo and behold, there is an actual physical REASON for my hearing loss.

In a nutshell (and this one is for you, Mom!), I'm snotty.  ;)  Seriously - there's a build up of mucous that is impacting the pressure in the tubes behind my eardrums, so it's pulling my eardrums further into my head than they should be, causing everything to sound muffled and creating the mild irritating feeling - like imagine you have a pipe cleaner in your ear.  It's not so bad at first, but after 20 or 30 minutes, you'd really like to get the pipe cleaner out of your ear, thanks. After a while, it's enough to drive you bonkers.

Anyway, so I have been prescribed a medication to clear up the mucous, and given a referral to an ENT to identify the source of the mucous.

NOW THAT YOU ALL KNOW WAY MORE THAN YOU WANTED TO ABOUT MY SNOT...

What have I done lately crafting wise?  Let's see...

I have my stripe socks with the interesting cuffs - one is completely finished, the other has just had the heel turned.  I will do my best to work on it this week, I solemnly swear.

I started another sock that doesn't go so high up the top of my foot, so I can wear it with my brown leather shoes - I guess they're clogs?  I dunno.  I only pretend to know what I'm talking about in regards to fashion.  Anyway, I'm to the heel on the first one of these socks.

I made a tank top based on the Seamwork pattern Aurora.  If you'll recall, I bought jersey in 2 colors that both coordinated with the striped sweater I made not long ago.  There is a STORY behind the Aurora, I'll get to it in a minute.

I bought yarn for another sweater for me - it's King Cole Opium, which is a fabulous thick and thin cotton/acrylic blend, in a lovely bright blue color.  The pattern I'm making is really simple, it's just rectangles.  The hard part is that the pattern calls for two wide stripes in the front of the sweater.  Do I a) stripe it, or b) knit it in a solid color?  If I go for stripes, what color should they be?  The fabric is open enough that I will need to wear it over something else - see above, my two Aurora tank tops, plus I have a few existing tanks that will work.

I bought fabric and a pattern to make a swimming suit for myself, but haven't started it; the reason for that is related to the Aurora story, so more on that in a minute.

When I ordered the jersey for the tank tops, I poked around on the website, and picked up a striped jersey on clearance.  I'm tossing around the idea of a boat neck top with three quarter length sleeves, but nothing solid yet.

NOW ON TO THE AURORA STORY.  I have a wireless printer.  It has mostly worked fairly well, it's a couple years old, but it generally does what it's designed to do - print.  I prefer to buy my sewing patterns from indie designers, because I like to know that my purchase is directly benefiting the designer.  I've also found that the indie patterns tend to be better fitting for modern bodies without needing a whole lot of alterations.  So, you buy the pattern online, and it's a PDF file that includes directions, and printable pattern pieces.  You print the pieces, tape the pages together, then cut out your size, and you have a sturdy pattern, rather than the flimsy tissue one.

HOWEVER.  It is critical that your printer is set to print at ACTUAL SIZE, not "scale to fit" or "fill page".

So, I went to print the Aurora pattern, and I could.not.get the printer to communicate with my laptop.  Let me rephrase that.  I can't get it to print from Adobe Acrobat from my laptop.  I can print from Chrome, and I can print from Adobe on my phone or my tablet, but Adobe on my laptop and my printer do not speak to each other.  I FINALLY got the pattern to print from my phone, BUT I didn't have the settings option to not scale the document - so the pattern ended up printing a quarter inch narrow, and a quarter inch short.

Not too huge of a deal on a stretchy tank top that only has 3 pieces.  I went up a size, adjusted the seam allowances, made the tank top, perfected the fit, and altered the pattern pieces.  So, a pattern that was MEANT to take 3 hours from cutting to wearing, actually took like 4 days.

I ended up taking it in at the sides so the armholes are smaller, because there was gaping at the armhole, which is normal for larger busted ladies like myself.  The neckline also gaped a bit, because I am very narrow across the front - on the gray tank top, I added a pleat in the center front of the neckline, and hand stitched a pretty pearlescent button over it.  I lined the armholes with bias binding, to make them a bit sturdier.  I haven't hemmed it yet, because I haven't decided what kind of hem to do.  I'll post a photo after I get it all washed and completely finished.

HOWEVER - I also bought an indie swimsuit design.  I'm very excited about this swimsuit design, I feel like I will be sexy in a swimming suit for the first time since having children.  However, fit in a swimming suit is a lot more critical than fit in a tank top.  So I haven't touched it, because I need to go to a copy shop or something to get it printed properly.

Also, you remember the brown corduroy trousers?  I think I may have figured out a fix for them that doesn't involve taking them in at the ankle.  Stay tuned; if it works, I'll post on it in like a week or two.

I really need to get in gear getting my jeans done, the trousers wearable, and a couple tank tops done.  Our trip is in less than a month, and it would be rather nice to have a mostly handmade wardrobe to take.