Hi everyone,
Thank you again for being so patient while I was away with computer troubles… I was hoping to get to your comments today, but didn’t…sorry.
Remember the jeans I tried to make for Violette? The black denim ones? The ones from the Liberty Jane pattern?
Well, I decided to try again… this time using some lightweight denim fabric for James. This was how they went…
First pair…
Uh… not so great…
Second pair…
Maybe okay… but when I pressed the crease down the front, I got it on the wrong spot on one leg, and it looks twisted…
Third pair…
Pretty nice, but it took me forever to get the front even from one side to the other on the waistband… There has to be a better way to make a front fly opening that isn’t bulky…and I did think of something when I was pressing them…
Maybe I should just buy a pattern…but I think in my head… I know what the pattern pieces look like, I can draw them, I can draft my own pattern… I can make them fit exactly the way I want…. but maybe this is taking too much of my time… hmmm…
But I moved onto shoes… yep. another pair of shoes for James…
I looked at the first pair of black shoes I had made him and they looked kind of like oxfords…
So I looked at a few mens shoes and they all had a deeper section cut out on the sides… (Like these)
…so I drafted a new pattern and came up with these…
I hope you can see the difference… on the side piece… and I also stitched them with leather thread around the soles… Makes them a little dressier I think.
Well, that was my day…
I have hurt my collar bone area (actually the muscles, tendons and ligaments) somehow and started some physical therapy today… 2 times a week for the next 4 weeks…
We had to pick up my hubby’s truck from the shop today…
We voted this morning…
…and I still got some sewing in…
Hope you did something fun today…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
James’s jeans are coming along, but maybe buying a pattern might be a good idea, if only so you can compare what you’ve drafted with what someone else did, and see where you might tweak your own pattern to get the desired result.
You are becoming quite a cobbler, Jeanne!! James is going to expect new shoes every day of the week before you know it!! Haha…
Have to comment on what Linda said about the boys’ eyelashes (RRFF). You haven’t seen our grandson Isaac’s eyelashes! They are the envy of every girl who’s ever seen them, I think–long, dark, thick, and lush! WOW!! I commented on them once when he was a teen (he’s 21 now), and he kind of sighed and said, “I know, Grandma….” 😂🤣😂
Congrats on becoming a US citizen, Ingrid! Be sure to register soon (if you haven’t already) so you can vote the next time there’s an election.
I’m so sorry about the difficulties with your dad cancelling his cataract surgeries! So frustrating! Sometimes these elderly men can be pretty bull-headed and cantankerous! (I know–I’m married to one!! 😂 He’ll be 90 in Jan. He’s 13 years older than I am.) I hope he will decide on his own to get those cataracts taken care of; it will make a huge difference for him! I think he’s probably just fearful of the surgery.
Jeanne, I have not gotten the blog since Friday. It usually comes in my email, but for the past several days, nothing! I just keep clicking onto the Friday blog, so get it that way. Wonder how i can get it again in my inbox?
Well, Charlotte, I do understand the beautiful eyelashes on some boys, my own grandson has long ones too, but those dolls have the same face molds as the girls, (or do they?) so that makes them look too feminine in my opinion. I do agree, some boys are just too “pretty”!
Jeanne, the third pair of jeas is the charm! I don’t like the first two because of the slimmer legs, which remind me of girls jeans. The boot cut or whatever it is looks so much better for the boys!
As far as the shoes, I don’t see a huge difference, but they are cut highter, so look more like boots to me.
Hang in there with your therapy!
I, too, have not received your blog post since Nov. 4. I resubscribed. Hope that helps! I love watching all that you do. You give me lots of ideas!
I love the pic with his little hands in his pockets!
Good morning!
Ingrid, congratulations upon your citizenship. 👍 So very sorry about your dad; it IS so frustrating and heart breaking. So many of us have had similar experiences and our hearts go out to you.
Barbara, congrats on the new serger and set up in your sewing room and orange chairs. Love that.
Jeanne, looks like you had a bear of a day with jeans. They are coming, but I think Charlotte has a good idea of breaking down to buy a good pattern. But, I am pretty sure that is not “you.”
So sorry about your shoulder/collarbone muscular pain. I have been dealing with shoulder/neck/scapular pain the last few weeks. Went to see my orthopedic surgeon that did a total reverse replacement there two years ago. He suggested a cream basically meant for arthritic joints but said he had seen good results for my problem. Of course PT will be happening. Back to the cream. Putting it on is a pain because the area can’t be covered with clothes for the first 10 minutes. Supposed to be done 3-4x a day. I have been doing twice. I have had three consecutive pain free days now, and today is starting out well. It is called Voltaren and is OTC now.
About James shoes. I agree. These look like boots. I much, much preferred the earlier pair of dress shoes. I would buy those from you in a heartbeat.
Finally, I, too, am not getting the daily blog emails. Never had a problem before this past glitch of yours. I just keep my tab open and click on “next post”, but if the email thing gets fixed, that would be awesome. Thanks so much and good luck with the pain and PT. 🤗
Okay, the jeans. First pair, way too baggy. Second pair, still too baggy in the thighs and why the crease? No creases needed in jeans. Third pair, looking much better, although, from the back, still a little baggy, and the waist is way too large. Elastic is not an option in my opinion. These pants would probably work out of another fabric, in beige, for casual dressier pants with a long sleeved shirt for the holidays. 🙂 So much trouble for a pair of pants, but I’m sure they will be best sellers because of the difficulty in making them. Here, I have the pattern I told you about, but until I can pick up some more machine needles, won’t even think about trying it out.
Tule fog this morning. Lots of leaves down after the rain, so back to yard work when it dries out a bit. 🙂
Good morning everyone.
Jeanne I haven’t had the blog in my e mail since Friday either, I have been doing what Linda does and click on the last one I received. I hadn’t thought of resubscribing. If it works for Linda I will try that.
I finally had my appointment at the hospital on Tuesday regards my hip. The good news is that I do qualify so am now on the ‘list’. The bad news is that because of the shortage of staff (not everyone wants to live on the other side of the world!) compounded by the pandemic the waiting list has jumped from no more than 4 months to between 6 to 12 months!!!! (The downside of free health care). I’ll just have to pray that there is a cancellation and they offer the spot to me. The further bad news is that for the first time since I had eclampsia with my first baby (he’ll be 57 in January) I have high blood pressure, almost certainly because of the pain medication I am taking coupled with the limited mobility so can’t walk as far as I used to. I have to see the doctor on Tuesday so she can monitor it. Any of you girls know nurses, doctors, surgeons who would love a change of scenery? I am sure the health service here would be delighted to hear from them lol.
I hope your elections went the way you wanted them to. I get very hot under the collar when we have elections here and people say “I can’t be bothered” when there are people all over the world still fighting for the right to have a vote. And “my one vote won’t make any difference” is particularly not true in NZ where we have MMP. Every vote counts. Sorry, I’ll get off my soapbox!
Jeanne so glad you are getting back into your Happy place. I am struggling to get into my sewing room at the moment but have made it a couple of times. Amazing how much better I feel when I can. Haven’t done much dolly sewing lately, must get back into that as well. I have several naked girls to deal with.
Have a good day everyone
So sorry to hear you may have to wait so long for help for your hip. I have a friend in Scotland who has nationalized healthcare and her problem is often getting in for follow-up visits. A couple years ago she broke her thigh bone just making a bed. It was a side effect of a medication she was taking and no one informed her. Because it was an emergency she did get in quickly but had a terrible time getting an appointment for follow-up and worried herself sick that it might not be healing properly. A couple years before that she had a back problem. It took her months to see a doctor and when it was decided she needed surgery she had to fly from the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles (she lives in the Isle of Scalpay) to Glasgow all the while barely being able to move. Thankfully she had a cousin in Glasgow who met her at the airport and took her to her home and then to the hospital for all the paperwork and then back for the surgery. She stayed with her cousin for a few days after until she was able to fly home. Hopefully there will be a cancellation soonest.
I’m with you on the voting. I’ve always voted and since we live in a rural area we do it on Election Day. The location is nearby and sometimes we are the only ones there at the time. Yesterday it was busier because my county has gone to less polling stations while allowing voting at any polling station in the county. Still very easy to do. Sean and Dionne live in a very populated area so they do early voting or they would have to stand in line most of the day to vote.
Good hearing from you. Sorry to hear of the very long scheduling wait for the hip. A person I know recently had her surgery cancelled because of the anesthesiologist. The next available appointment isn’t until January, and I thought that was a long wait. Guess not.
Definitely need to see some more sewing of any kind from you. Your work is amazing. 🙂
I have to admire your sticktoitiveness in trying to develop a working jeans pattern. You can check Kathy Anne Designs if you are looking for a pattern. She has just started drafting patterns for the RRFF boy dolls. I think the pants might be dress pants though but she might have others also. I haven’t checked. But drafting patterns is out of my league but definitely not out of yours so you’ll probably get it on your own. I’ve never seen a young man with such an extensive shoe wardrobe and all of them very nice. Some of my girls would love to be as lucky as James.
Well the serger is on top of the table but not yet plugged in. I made a serious faux pas last evening. Hubby asked me why the serger was not up and ready to go. I spent a lot of time yesterday tidying up in preparation for the great unveiling but the thing is a bit heavy so I told him I was going to have Sean take it out of the box and put it up for me today. At which point he walked into the kitchen, opened the box, took out the serger and walked into my sewing room and placed it on the new table. Oops! I really stuck my foot in this one. He informed me that even if I could not pick it up, he still could. I said I was worried about his knees since he had given them a workout during the day. He said I needed to leave that decision up to him and he wasn’t going to risk hurting them. Lesson learned. Do not underestimate the abilities of one’s spouse no matter what age.
Had to laugh about your helpful spouse. 🙂 I think other person here would just tell me to do it. 🙂
I bought that Kathy Anne pattern recently and told Jeanne about it too. I think it would work, but I do like the slimmer jean look as well. I like her last pair best, but with belt loops. 🙂
Maybe I messed it, but how was your trip? Hope it was enjoyable.
I liked Jeanne’s last effort too and belt loops are a great idea. I keep buying all these adorable belts for my girls and then forget to add the belt loops to their clothes.
Vacation was great! I did get a cold at the end of my first week. I blame it on my sister’s weather in West Virginia being such a drastic change from here. So I slept the first couple days in eastern Tennessee. David said it was like being on vacation with Sleeping Beauty. The fall colors in both states were lovely and in spite of my being a little under the weather we had a great and safe time.
So sorry about the cold, but glad the whole trip wasn’t ruined. I’ve always wanted to see the fall colors. Maybe some day. However, we missed out on winning the lottery, so it may be awhile. 🙂