Mortem's Tricks or Treats: New Lead, and "New Look".

You know when you've been knocked down for a while, you're not sure how you'll get back up?

And when something good happens, something really good, you're afraid it's some kind of cruel elaborate ruse in order to strike the legs from under you?

Well it's how I've been feeling. A dichotomy of bliss and anxiety.

About a month or so ago, my husband applied to a job in Texas. We hadn't heard anything at all, so I assumed nothing was coming at all, so I never bothered mentioning it to anyone at all. I tried not to get excited when we got a call saying they've just been really busy and they're going over the candidates.

And then we hear that we got it, and we barely had time to process it all before the ball really began to move quickly. I still haven't fully digested the fact that in a month or so, Texas will be home.

Well we started fixing things around the house to prep it for showings and get pictures for listings in the subsequent week. No more than 7 hours go by from when our listing hit the websites, and we got it under contract.

We were signing papers on Thursday of last week, and it was a particularly good day because it was my mother's last day of chemo, and her counts are all in the green. She now has radiation to do left, and hopefully all of this will be just a thing of the past. My mother has remained ever stubborn and strong.

In the meantime, I can breath a little. Other than all the house work, I have been a little overwhelmed by the fact I had to sew so many totes (these totes) for colleagues and friends of colleagues. I am currently on the last one; even though the last tote isn't done, I decided for a little mental break after all the constant work; I really needed something I could truly unwind onto/into.

Since we've still been budgeting all our expenses, I still haven't had full range to work on my own stuff... so my self imposed challenge seemed obvious. Create something that appears expensive, but having only $25 to spend on the supplies.

So off to Walmart I went-- even with my great discount at work, Walmart can still make my $25 stretch the farthest.

What I bought:

• 2 yards of scalloped trimmed lace, $7 per yard = $14
• 1 tube of fabric glue, $3.00
• 2 spools of ribbon lace, $1.00 each = $2
• 1 pack of glue-on silver pyramid studs $1.00
• 1 New Look pattern #6286 $3

For a grand total of $23 before taxes.

If I went further into my calculations, I would have probably spent less, since I didn't use the entire tube of glue nor all the yardage of the lace... but that's reaching a bit, I think hehe.

I wanted to make something simple and light for the coming summer months; I may be a cold blooded individual who relishes in the heat, but there are still days when I feel as warm blooded as other homo sapiens living in the desert.

I chose view B; a sleeveless tunic with a hi-low hem. I don't know what it is about hi-low hems, but I love them and I can't get enough of them.

Since I was afraid the lace was too thin on its own to sustain the weight of the studs, I grabbed some of my scraps of black interfacing to glue them onto. It turned out to be the best thing for it, because indeed... the lace itself was too flimsy.

The studs were small, so it wasn't embellished quite to that point. So I used the thin ribbon lace trim to make a very subtle pentagram on the front. One you'd only notice if I turned at a certain angle. I probably should have stitched it on before putting the entire top together... but hindsight is 20/20-- at least it turned out perfectly.

Unfortunately I whipped this project out in a night. I didn't get the full immersion I was honestly half expecting. I didn't alter the pattern pieces after cutting out my usual size 14, so that probably had something to do with that. The only trouble the tunic gave me was of my own blunders.

It was fortunate that it turned out it needed to be done anyways because of how short my torso is and how long the finished garment unaltered ended up being. I just wish it was done in more ideal ways. 6 inches worth of fabric was chopped from the top portion of the gathered half of the top. First, I stitched the "flounce" backwards, with the long side facing front. Then I stitched it inside out. Lastly I didn't align the seams. After all that chopping and stitching back... the length turned out perfect, hahah!

My purple camisole has metal connectors, that confuse for misplaced studs.

Boy did I feel dumb having made that many mistakes on something so simple, but it was completely serendipitous. I almost forgot how short my torso was, having been so preoccupied with sewing handbags and totes.

I'd like to be able to make a waistbelt that goes with this dress, and I have the perfect idea... but lord knows when I will see that come to fruition, like so many of my ideas.