Happy Valentine's Day!

Here's the new status report on seaming Patti:

1. Shoulder seams [2]
2. Pleats [4] [2] [1]
3. Sleeves
4. Side Seams [2]
5. Button bands [2]
6. Collar
7. Buttons [3]
8. Sew in ends [too numerous to mention]

Patti won't be seeing any action tonight. No worries, I've got another outfit lined up. Superstarras always have a backup.

I was so close to throwing Patti in the naughty corner last night...youdon'tevenknow. I was working the first side seam and came to the under-bust garter ridge and they didn't match up. AUGH! There was about an inch and a half worth of extra fabric on one side. I thought I might have knit one side too long and would have to pull out the sleeves and the shoulder seams, frog the entire back [or front sections] and reknit. I took a deep breath. Then I pulled out the side seaming, matched up the side decreases and realized that during the break [between working the back and the fronts], the back section may have stretched a little. I got it all to seam up and all was right in Superstarra-ville again.

So the next deadline for Patti's completion will be Monday night. I think I can make that one. Pretty buttons and everything. However, there is one part that I will have to consult a higher power about. Mom to the rescue!

Here is one of the pleats that is giving me grief. I know you probably can't tell from this picture, but I sewed the pleat down right under the garter ridge and it's puckering a bit. I don't know if it is my technique, if it's the weight of the pleat and gravity, if the sewn stitches are too tight, if it's the thickness of the yarn, if I sewed it in the wrong place...oh I could go on. My first guess would be the problem is my sewing technique. I'll have mom look at it Saturday afternoon and maybe she'll fix it for me. She's so much better at this stuff than I am.

Then there was work stress. I've been having this work issue that is taking forever to resolve and although it is not my fault or my doing, I'm the one who gets to play Sherlock Holmes. So in a moment of stress and computer monitor staring induced catatonia, I succumbed to the urge and raided my co-worker's candy jar. The Take 5 has become too much of a self-restraint symbol that I had to get something else rather than eat it. So I took 4 Nestle Nuggets. I only ate two though...with a handful of peanuts to make me feel not so horrible about giving into the chocolate temptation.

And lastly...in an effort to look cute for Valentine's Day, I decided to let the Soul tube top see the light of day. I'm feeling pretty cute right about now [especially because it's a skinny day...you know how rare those can be...especially with the Free Range Office Chocolates].

Happy Valentines Day everyone!