Long, vertical darts altering my "under grown" clothes to fit me again - these are alterations done in 2010, but I am still wearing these clothes, hence today's post.

NOTE -

If you are doing these alterations yourself - BASTE, BASTE, BASTE. Practice on a shirt from GoodWill or one from your closet you will not be sad to pitch. Notice she did not cut away any of the excess fabric (blouses).  If you are doing these alterations with a new to you alteration person, I would start with your least favorite item. You can also request the shirt be basted (thread or pin) and then go in for a fitting. The other suggestion I have is to wait quite a while (hitting maintenance) before having any alterations done. First to see where your body settles. And second to see if you REALLY want the piece of clothing long term. Because only true loves should be altered (if you are paying someone to do them).  As I was looking through my alteration notes, most of my alterations happened in summer/fall of 2010 after I hit my final weight in November of 2009. I waited a bit to be sure of what I wanted. 

There is very little ego involved with the pictures I post.

If you look carefully, in pictures,  you will find dust, you will find clutter.

I have posted pictures with bed head.

I have posted pictures in my underwear.

Last week I posted pictures in my pj's.

In early May, I had the idea for this post, after I had spent a very long, hot, humid day running errands.

If I had gotten the idea with a freshly pressed blouse, first thing in the morning, still in air conditioning, you would not now be subjected to the wrinkles in this first set of pictures.

Two problems with that theory -
1) the blouse was not ironed when I started.
2) if I don't take the pictures when I think of it, idea is lost, post never happens.

These are both size medium blouses I had before I lost my last 20 lbs.

I did not save every item of clothing when I got down to my current size, but I did save favorites which were alterable. Not every single thing was. I purged a lot.

I have a middle eastern alteration lady who we all adore. If something comes up and I have the opportunity to give her business, honestly, I do.


The other thing I guess it would help to understand is I carried my excess weight in my belly. My last 20 lbs all came out of the area between the bottom of my arm pits and the top of my hip bones.

I CANNOT stand things that hang down from my breasts (maternity look to me). I need things fitted through my waist, because now it actually indents.

What Sharla and I both discovered is if things are too big on us - they TENT in the back which makes it look terrible in the front. We learned this as I worked with my alteration lady (2010) after my last 20 lbs (2009). Alteration lady makes the corrections in the back (not very noticeable) which then make all the difference in the world in how things are in the front.

Sharla is a long time blogger friend of mine with a private blog - sorry no link.

And one more thing - I wear a size 6 on bottom. I have very broad shoulders. I still have a bust (32D). I am solid. As I buy new clothes now, I am always buying for the biggest part of me (shoulders, bust). So that is why some undergrown, larger sizes have been alter-able for me. I think that all that might combine to make a big difference in altering clothes (for me, being worth it) vs just starting over with a smaller size. (If I had tiny shoulders, bust, would not have altered any of those clothes shown in this post).



I love this first blouse. I love the fact the buttons are in sets of 3. I love the detail on the lower hem. I love the color. So, yes, I paid (gladly) to have this one altered.

This (wrinkly) picture shows the front of the blouse as it was originally sold and as it still remains. No alterations on the front.

Notice the detail at the hem? I love that.

Here is the part that I hope you can see. The top stitched seam on the right is the seam sewing the sleeve to the top. The top stitched seam on the left is part of the original structure of the blouse (there is a seam just like that in the front too). The seam between those two seams, the seam that is not top stitched, is a long, vertical dart the alteration lady added to ease the fullness out of the top when I lost my last 20lbs. This dart runs from the shoulder seam of the blouse to the hem. 

Here is the same (wrinkly) shirt, now inside-out, with my nasal spray pointing to the long vertical dart which was added. Notice the dart starts at nearly nothing by the shoulder seam, is widest at my waist, and then also takes in part of the hem. If you click on this picture, it will enlarge so you can see more easily.

Now the nasal spray is pointing to the identical dart on the other side.

I love this blouse too. Love 3/4 sleeves. It is a nice heavy weight fabric. I like the color. I love the vertical stripes.

No alterations were made to the front of this shirt. Yes, there are vertical darts, under the bust. They are original to the shirt.

Two long darts, were added to the back of this shirt. Because of the stripes, you can see the seam lines, one on each side of the back.

Again, an inside-out view of the blouse. The tips of the two nasal sprays are touching the dart seam lines. So, yes, in the middle of the vertical dart, there is a larger amount of fabric being darted, the dart goes to nearly nothing at the top and bottom of the blouse.  If you click on the pictures, you might be able to see more clearly.

I did not move the nasal spray for this picture. It is showing the exact same position on the blouse. Luckily the thread does not match exactly, and you can see the seam line in this close up, fairly clearly.

I think I had three jackets altered. I think Sharla has one of them now. I later found that same jacket on ebay and ordered a smaller size.

The other two are pictured below.

This first, chocolate brown one is a very thick fabric. I had to talk the alteration lady into altering it as it was a size 14. She argued with me. What won is the fact that if she took it in, center back, the shoulders still fit. And it was good quality fabric. (I had probably bought it somewhere on my way down the scale and it had escaped all closet purges because I loved it. Still do.)

No alterations were done to the front of the jacket. 

The seam you see down the center is an alteration. The next seam over, each side of center, was original to the jacket. Yes, I am planning on wearing this jacket for the rest of my life. . .

My nasal sprays are showing a very large seam which was taken down the center back of the jacket. Because the fabric is so thick, alteration lady did cut away the excess and finished the raw seam. This center back seam starts at almost nothing under the tag. On this one, alteration lady opened the hem, added the center seam, re closed the hem. I actually took this jacket back in, to her, when writing this post, to clarify which seams were hers, and which were original to the jacket. I questioned if she had added the side seams, just off center too, but she had not. Center only, is her work.

As you can tell, the pattern is so busy you will not see any of the darts on the outside of this jacket. I still included pictures, because you can see how well it fits. The black is a shirt I am wearing under the jacket.

On the inside, the stitching is very clear. Again, all alterations were on the back side of the jacket.

The nasal sprays show a seam/dart down the center back of the jacket. There is top stitching on this center seam/dart.

I put the nose of each bottle under the excess fabric, so you can see how much was folded over when this very long, vertical seam/dart was made.

Closer view of the width of the seam/dart. You can see how the seam/dart includes the hem.

In addition to the dart down the center back, I think, two small darts were made on each side at the waist. It is possible these were original to the jacket, these were altered a long time ago, hard to remember. But I think, as I look, they were added by my lady. There are a total of four of these darts, two on each side of center.

If you go back up to the pictures of me wearing the jacket, you can see it fits me very well. I wear it buttoned. It fits great in shoulders and bust and waist. Without the alterations, it would not be flattering, I would have purged it.

Benches - inside and out

To show you this first bench, I felt like I had to show you the whole wall. This is one wall in our kitchen. The tree is lit year round. The banner from the top of my blog is actually setting on the three little chairs on top the cabinet. That cabinet has been in my family since around civil war days. The pictures (on the rails) change with the seasons. The part of the wall above the top molding/quilt rack is painted the same (white) as the ceiling. The part below is yellow. The depth of the yellow changes with the sun. I can't remember what time of day these pictures were taken, but it looks very yellow to me.

This series of pictures is actually to show you this bench, which came from my husband's mother's front porch. Honestly, it was too beautiful to put outside. My husband scrubbed it and into the kitchen it moved.

This bench is in the kitchen also. It came from my husband's mother and father. It was in one of their houses long ago. Then it was in his father's nursing home room for the last years of his life. I have always loved it. (That little rocker was my great or great-great grandmother's.)

This is the recent, garage sale find, bench which was added to the computer room.

Here is the quilt which hangs above that same garage sale bench. You can see the 'feet' in the first picture, so I thought I should show you the rest. It is a lady, at a quilt guild meeting, holding up her quilt for everyone to see. Notice how much food is associated with a quilt guild meeting.

That is my organic produce delivery box bench on the front porch. When the box is empty and waiting for retrieval, I tip it on its end so everyone knows it is empty. When the new box is delivered, it is flat on its bottom and we know it is full. The UPS, Fed Ex and US Postal Service all use this bench for deliveries too. 

Yes, these pictures were taken before the front porch got its summer scrub. This bench is for deliveries also. 

Neighbor's backyard, which is now part of our side yard. We are all on rather odd shaped lots, we had to go as far back as possible to get the width of the house to fit. We have a huge front yard. They have a tiny front yard and a huge backyard. The advantage is that we don't hear any house noises from them in our house - no garage door, etc. They do not have any kids. Their backyard stays very quiet.

We have to take our wreath down during nesting season. Normally it is above that gray bench. It will go back up midsummer.

We have transoms inside and out.

If you are wondering about the garbage can, my husband had several cans of open paint in there, drying, when I took these pictures in early May. He didn't want to put them in the garage (to dry), because of the fumes, he didn't want the can to fill with water outside, hence, the front porch. Glamorous, I know. They are long gone now. 

Yes, front porch is huge. I am thinking 25', but I might not be remembering correctly. Did not measure.

My books - Atonement (2001) by Ian McEwan

Yes, a very modern publication date (for me).

This book is considered a modern classic by many. I agree with that accessment.

Somehow being written by an English author and read by an English reader (my version anyway, Jill Tanner, who was most excellent) really helps that classic style/impression.  But the actual writing, very much has a classic feel to it, in my opinion.



When I wrote about Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet,
Laura said: 

"R&J is my least favorite. The conflicts and misunderstandings really bothered me as a HS student when I first read it & saw the movie, and reading it in college didn't change that.

"I saw it at our university in town years ago and thought they did a really good job. That's probably the first time I actually enjoyed it. Maybe since I was older and had some distance from my youth and my own issues, it was easier for me to deal with."

If you share that sentiment about (really not liking) conflicts and misunderstandings, then Atonement is (probably) not the book for you.

I am not going to say any more than that about the plot.

The book is written in three distinct sections. Sometimes that bothers me in a book, but in this one, it did not. Each section is discussing a different time frame. And the time frames are in chronological order, which I always appreciate.  (There is an after note, sort of, which I guess is actually 4th section of book, as I think about it).

I enjoyed this book thoroughly. I am not sure I would have a few years ago. But now I can see the difference between me/mine and a story. If you are new to reading me, that might sound like an odd statement. Much of my inner work, that started as soon as the last of the fat was off my body, was boundary related. And really important.

This book was assigned by one of my groups.  The woman who suggested the book, pushed hard for us to read it as a group.  And I now understand that pushiness. It is a great book for discussion.

Have any of you read it?

Drying Rack Pictures

I played a little game with myself, in the weeks I set up all these pictures to post. I would think of a concept from around my house, that had picture possibilities, and then see how many I could find.

A Where's Waldo of sorts.


This is actually the first topic to enter my mind.

And starting out, you wouldn't think 'drying rack' would generate a lot of pictures. But at my house, apparently there are seven. Six of those seven have pictures, the first one is long gone - no pictures.



1. When my kids were little, I had a playpen. I think someone gave it to me. I never put a child in it. But it made the BEST drying rack for quilts and comforters. The top bar was heavily padded in plastic. So the wet quilt/comforter never touched metal. Air circulated on both sides of the quilt/comforter and it dried very nicely. Long gone, no picture, but easy to understand.




2. This is the current replacement for the playpen. Those are dirty clothes baskets from all over the house. They are the same size exactly. Three in a row handle a long item, like this quilted pad for middle's college bed. Four set in corners, handle a large quilt or comforter. I flip the item about once a day. And I leave it drying for many days. Middle's roommate did not let a comforter dry long enough, put in in a plastic bag, and yes, it molded. And that brings up another topic. I put things like college bedding in a closet or stuffed animals in the attic - in CLEAR garage bags so there is no mistaking what they are. A friend had three antique quilts hit the garbage, never to be seen again, by putting them in a traditional black garbage bag. They were family quilts. No, she never got over it.

3. I take that mold thing seriously. It happens easily. When I have tossed a comforter in the dryer, and it is mostly dry, but still damp in places, the kitchen chairs are my remedy. I line up as many as four chairs and hang the comforter over them. Does not take up nearly as much room as the dirty clothes baskets from #2. But since the comforters are mostly dry, they can go on wood chairs without ruining the finish. (this is middle's college comforter, I was taking these pictures right after she moved home this past spring).

4. These traditional drying racks are an important fixture in our garage each summer. Once upon a time, we only needed one rack. If we just have one kid at home, we fill two easily. If we have two or more kids at home, we get out all four (see my garage pictures from last week). Someone swims nearly every day, all summer. Each person has their own towels (unique colors and prints). The minute we walk in the door, from the pool, everything goes on the racks for the next day. These things stay fresh smelling and feeling because they dry in the big open garage (3 bays) and do not need washed very often. We use zip ties to hold the rack firmly upright, so they do not fold/collapse as towels are pulled on and off (if you look closely at the near top corners of the racks, you can see the zip ties in figure 8's, holding the racks firmly). These racks are stored in the attic when the pool closes each year.

5. This is the rod above my washer and dryer. As you can see, it is full of empty hangers all the live long time. Because it is wooden, it is the perfect place to dry the random small items.

6. This one also comes from the laundry room. This is my hanger drying area. The two white zip cases at the end are important. One holds Halloween Costumes. The other holds dress up dresses. I love that the white cases take up a lot of room. It forces me to keep the other end clutter controlled. The day this picture was taken, not much clutter control happening. Often there are 6-8 shirts, all on hangers, spaced with room between them, air drying.

7. My mother gave this drying rack to me. It does not fit (well) in my bathtub. Honestly, I almost GoodWilled it. I figured out a practical solution. When the hand washed item is drippy wet, I prop the rack as best I can in the tub (first picture). As soon as the drips are done, and someone needs the tub, I tip the rack on its side and put it over the vent, near the window. The item stays there for several days. The fan on our air system is always on, so a steady breeze comes up from that vent. When the rack is not in use, it lives in the upright position over the vent (because seriously, where on earth else would someone store it?).

I started out thinking I had three topics for this picture post, and then kept thinking of them until I hit 7.



And just when I thought I was done, I thought of an eighth drying 'rack':

I have no idea what this basket was originally (it came on the truck from my husband's mother's house). But it is the perfect size and shape to hold a pair of shoes or boots upside down over the laundry vent  (because air is always coming out of that vent, too, and the insides of the boot get nice and dry). This picture shows slippers, but youngest's running gear is the current upside-down resident of this basket. This basket is actually metal, which would normally be a problem with wet things. But it is coated with some type of rubber which is perfect.

Cleaning out the garage 2013

I have mentioned this many times over the years, at one point (approximately 2005-2006) the garage was a total mess. I took care of 10 items a day out of the garage until it was clean.  10 items a day was very doable.  I looked. I am not sure there was an "as it happened/10 items a day" garage post.  But here is a recap post I wrote in 2008.





2013 -
Monday 6/10/13 my husband and I cleaned the cupboards in the garage.

Sunday 6/16/13, husband and I cleaned out the odds and ends that had accumulated on the floor of the double bay side of the garage (where the cupboards are). Then middle and I scrubbed the floor with soap, a broom and a hose.

Monday 6/17/13, middle and I removed everything from the messy half/side of the pegboard (single bay end of garage). We rearranged the hooks and brackets on the peg board, rehung what we were keeping, and then made a trip to GoodWill with all the rejects. We rehomed other things to a young couple with a new garden.

Wednesday 6/19/13, middle and I sorted out the other half the peg board. We also cleaned up a pile that had accumulated in another corner.

Thursday 6/20/13 I hauled everything out of the single bay floor and middle and I scrubbed it. While I was hauling, youngest sorted out bins of balls, outdoor games, etc. and middle scrubbed the three huge windows.  When my husband got home from work he sorted out four sets of golf clubs.

We have a pile going to GoodWill on Saturday.
My husband is taking the clubs to a local golf shop to see what is worth keeping.
I have a pile I am trying to decide - ?


The cupboard clean out was time consuming. The rest of these projects were small, doable jobs. Breaking them down into segments made each part defined and easy.

This is actually the before picture. I know, does not look like a huge mess. But it wasn't very tidy. And behind the garbage can, there was a whole lot of junk and dirt on the floor. Some of that stuff went to GoodWill and some of it was rehomed to a young couple with a large garden. 

Here is the after picture. We have things now on this peg board that were in other places in the garage and on the floor. So, in tidying and weeding out things, we picked up a lot more storage space.

Here is the before picture for the other half the peg board. 

After pegboard.
How many snow shovels do we actually need? Evidently we need all of these plus . . .

.  .  . the wide one which now hangs with the lawn chairs. 

Before Picture - See four sets of golf clubs in that far corner? We didn't know it, and we have no idea when, because no one actually plays golf so the clubs have not been touched in years, but at some point there was a nice mouse nest in the bottom of one of those bags. . .VERY luckily I only moved them out of corner and did not look in them before husband got home. Middle would have had to call EMS if I had been the one that found it (even though no little mouse nor mouse carcass was home). 

This is the pile (of clubs) my husband is taking in to a local gold shop to see what is worth keeping. One golf bag went in garbage, two to GoodWill, keeping one. (This picture is actually missing 6 wooden end clubs that I had already put in his car and 6 different length putters that we are keeping no matter what). 

Minus the vacuum cleaner and wheelbarrow in the background, this is the latest GoodWill pile for Saturday. The green and the black things are golf bags. 

This is my I can't decide pile. These all came on the truck from my husband's mother's house cleanout.  They were still sitting in a corner of the garage, unbeknownst to me.

After - Garbage can and recycling can and lawn mower were all out on driveway when this pictures was taken. They will all three go in what is the lower left corner of this picture. 

Before - this was actually taken on the day we were cleaning out the cabinets. My sorting table is in the lower right corner of the picture.