Redrafted to be something I would do and wear

The only pattern piece from Simplicity 1463 that made the final cut is the front. It did get bisected by the zipper. Next time I will change the shoulder as well, so there will not be anything left of the original pattern. I don't know why, but it is hard for me to use anyone else's patterns. I have always been that way. When I sewed for myself in High School, I always added my own touch. I took Natalie Chanin's class on Craftsy last week. I think I may be only one of thousands of people who love her hand embellished knits and think "I will never take the time to do that." BUT... if I could do it by machine, then yes, I can see myself making it happen. I highly recommend the class. Natalie's teaching is fabulous. Her work is inspirational. She makes stencils by hand, uses them to paint the fabric, and then hand sews around the stencils. I drew my designs on with a green sharpie and used my machine back stitch. What I did on my machine in a few hours would have been weeks or months in the making by hand. The result would be more valuable and elegant, but I just wanted the fun of stitching and cutting. I think the back is a little overkill, so next time I will be a little more subtle in my design. Is this a technique you would like to try? If you have done any reverse applique, I would love to see it. Show me over on facebook. Friend me, Cherie Killilea.

Simplicity 1463 My own private What Not to Wear Episode

This is my muslin. It is always good to have extra fabric if for nothing more than trying out a new pattern. You can see from my notes why I am not modeling this one. I chose Simplicity 1463 because it was listed as one of the top 10 patterns of 2014 by Pattern Review. It appealed to me because it looked cool and comfortable. I am a sucker for raglan sleeves and V-necks are good for me. I also wanted something with at least one part on which I could practice my Alabama Chanin techniques.  I was skeptical about the "V" shaped hem in front and back, but that was easy to cut off. I did try it on with the original hem and it made my thighs appear 3 times larger than actual. In the back, the upward curve of the yoke makes it look like I must be hauling something heavy in front - wearing a baby, maybe. Then I turn around and the front is pretty billowy too, so you think, yes, she is hauling a baby but it's on the inside. Just what every woman wants. I thought I could salvage the pattern with a few design changes. Listed in order of difficulty.
#1 Raise and straighten the hem
#2 Add a zipper in front to open up the front and wear as a layer over a tank top, automatically slimming.
#3 Change the back yoke to point down in center back.
#4 Draft a new lower back to allow some fullness but without the gathers.
#5 Draft elbow length normal sleeves instead of the butterflies.
In the end, the only pattern piece I actually used was the front, and that was changed because I added the center front zipper.
In my next post, I will show you the final version, talk more about the class with Natalie Chanin, and officially review Simplicity 1463.

Easiest Peach Cobbler Recipe

Starting from a Betty Crocker recipe, I made some changes and turned out this quick and easy cobbler with minimal clean up. It made a great breakfast. This recipe will serve 2 or 3 for breakfast. If you are serving it for dessert, plan on this much for 4 people. If you want to double the recipe, use 2 bread pans and make them individually.
Into an ungreased breadpan,
add 1/2 cup biscuit mix
and 1/2 cup milk
and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
Mix them together in the pan.
Drain a 15 ounce can of sliced peaches, and add them to the pan, distributing evenly.
Sprinkle 1.5 Tablespoons chopped pecans over the peaches.
Sprinkle 1/4 cup packed brown sugar over everything.
Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over all.
Bake for 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven.
Serve warm in bowls.

Reading and Writing

I like to read what my high school aged kids are reading in school. Some of it is revisiting classics I read at their age, like To Kill a Mockingbird and Brave New World. Then there are those that I missed or weren't classics yet maybe, like The Power of One: A Novel and The Things They Carried. I love that my kids are reading and talking about important things like racism, individuality, and war.  I love my Kindle Fire for the instant gratification of buying a book from home.
Reading is one of the things that fuels me for the creative work that I do. I recently finished a great book by a local author The Sasquatch Hunter's Almanac. The author, Sharma Shields, said she wrote 3 drafts to get to the final book. That encourages me. It makes me think of one of the games we used to play at Comedy Sportz. You improvise a scene and when the whistle blows, you have to change the last line you said. We usually find that the 3rd time is the charm. Shields takes her novel in some crazy directions that I imagine came from that kind of improvization. I look forward to trying it in my next creative writing session.  I am not good at book reviews because I do not want to give anything away, but if you do not read The Sasquatch Hunter's Almanac, you will soon find yourself in a room with well read people all giddy about the book and you will feel like an alien. Another great read that none of your friends will have read, so you can be a trail blazer, is the play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang. It won the Tony for the best play of 2013, so maybe some of your Tony-er friends saw it.
I do write more than sewing patterns. I will be in the cast of a little show in Spokane called Listen to Your Mother. We read things we have written about motherhood. It is on Mother's Day. You can read about the show and see the other cities here: LTYM . If you have a city near you, I highly recommend making Listen to Your Mother a yearly tradition. The website has videos of past talks. This was my reading in 2011. This year, my topic is serious. I will post the story here after the show and before the video is available.
Disclaimer: When I post links to things that I like they are sometimes affiliate links which pay me a small commission on purchases. I never pretend to like something in order to promote it. I just think it makes sense to collect 20 cents here and there when I am posting a link for your convenience anyway. If you have a blog, you should look at this book Amazon Associates: 7 Steps to Earning $2,000 per Month through the Amazon Affiliate Program in Less than 20 Hours a Week! (Amazon Associates - Amazon Associates ... for Beginners - Niche Website - Amazon). To be clear, I have not read that one, but I probably should. I earned a whopping $27 last year in the program, LOL.