I Wore A Dress Today

Yes I did. I put on A Dress, loaded myself into the car, and went on a road trip to the not-so-local Joann's today. What prompted this visit?

I've spent some time in my closet. And the laundry room. And the sewing room, where today's menu includes an abundance of fabric with a nice side dressing of unironed ironing.

I've gained 7 pounds this summer. Yall remember all about the darn bicycle, don't cha? This weight gain is definitely not my fault. It has absolutely no relationship to the amount of time I spend with a fork in one hand and a knife in the other.

I'm sorta tallish. Well, tall actually. I come in a little over 5'10". I have the long Inspector Gadget model arms with matching legs. To add insult to injury, I am also long-waisted. I have never bought a long-sleeved anything off the rack that was truly long-sleeved, on me at any rate. I always end up looking for three-quarter length sleeves to begin with, because that's what I'm going to wind up with in the end. And not once in my lifetime, not a single solitary time, have I ever had to hem up a pair of store bought pants. These are the reasons I don't shop. I hate, loathe, and despise clothes shopping. I always end up with clothes that don't fit well, are too big (to compensate for all the fitting issues), and are just plain aggravating to wear. There are things in my closet that I just plain won't wear anymore--they make me so miserable that I actually get mean when I wear them. Needless to say, the local Goodwill store is about to get a ton of barely used merchandise.

Even though I can barely stand to type out these words (don't worry, I have already fortified myself with five cups of coffee and some Jello chocolate pudding), the dreaded event is upon me. In six days I have to go back to school. There. I said it.

I need some clothes. And I need them now. My problem is that I have trouble facing reality. The reality is that I am not going to lose 30 pounds in five days. Heck, I'm not going to lose 30 pounds in the next year. Until now, this refusal to face reality has kept me from making clothes for myself, which I used to do all the time. Because in the back of my little mind was that little voice that kept saying "If you make that beautiful thing now, it won't fit you when you lose weight."

I'm wearing earplugs now. I am going to make myself some clothes that fit me. If I only get one piece done every two weeks, my outlook on life will be much more pleasant. Plus, wearing one thing that fits will encourage me to make another thing that fits, and so on and so on. See how much progress I'm making already? I'm actually getting excited about this! See how the Wearing Of A Dress can improve one's thinking skills?

The Force Was With Me. Here's evidence:

I think I wound up with ten pieces for tops/blouse/skirts/dresses. And enough black linen for a skirt and some slacks. All at 60% off, too!

And the patterns:

I know yall spotted those two dress patterns, didn't you? I thought so. If any of you have made either one of those dresses yet, please drop me a comment and let me know how yours turned out. They are Vogue 8382 and Simplicity 0521 (the Threads dress).

And no, I'm not giving up Little Dresses. This year I'm not teaching extended day. I've done that for the past few years, and it consumes a couple of hours each day of my at-home time. So I'm not doing it any more. That extra time, with some good advance menu planning, should translate into more sewing/cooking/sewing/smocking/sewing/laundry/sewing/cleaning/sewing time than ever.

Now if I can just get this dang income tax return done today ...................