Still here...but dying of laughter

I got this email from McCall's about the early summer 2010 preview and I couldn't resist sharing it with you.  The patterns are generally pretty basic.  There are a few that I might like for lazy summer days but generally the preview screamed "crazy" and a little...(looking for a polite way of saying this)..."not appropriate for a lady of good moral character." 

I've been looking for a way to wear my Runts candy bits on my shirt and now I've found it!!
McCall's 6068


For Halloween (I like to plan ahead), I'm going to be Jennifer Lopez circa P. Diddy.
McCall's 6075


Or I could just wear my bedsheets.
McCall's 6079


At any rate, I need to borrow someone's baby so I can dress them up in one of these.  Mind you, I'm not calling these "crazy."  I think they're hysterical!
McCall's 6105


Last, but not least, I will use up some neon paisley fabric I have to make DH a shirt like this.
McCall's 6086


I am concerned that he might enter this shirt into evidence at my competency hearing but I think the law is on my side!

McCall's is claiming that maxi dresses, cowl necks, and bejeweled apparel are in.  Maxi dress?  Depends on the look.  Cowl neck?  Almost always love these.  Bejeweled?  Only if I can use Runts candy.  They're too hard to eat so I might as well wear them.

I am considering upgrading my summer look from boring T-shirts and shorts to some easy summer dresses.  Might as well look cute while I sweat through another extremely humid Memphis summer. 

McCall's 6070


McCall's 6072


McCall's 6074


I do enjoy a nice cowl neck!
McCall's 6078


I'm not really a fan of tunics but this could be cozy lounging around the house.  DH would probably appreciate the upgrade from super baggy T-shirt.
McCall's 6080


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I've been sewing every spare minute I have so I can complete my outfit for Saturday night.  The sewing gods are not being kind or they just have a really sick sense of humor.  My pants lining just arrived yesterday and I still haven't received the lining for the jacket.  The New Look 6920 jacket "muslin" fits great and only needed some minor adjustments.  (I say "muslin" because I don't make muslins for any of my projects anymore.  I am teaching myself some Palmer & Pletsch techniques, like tissue-fitting the pattern pieces and then pin-fitting the fabric sections BEFORE sewing.  See Fit for Real People for some details.)  My first Kwik Sew pattern ever is also an easy fit.  The directions are weird though.  Nonfusible interfacing on the neck facings on a knit top???  I'm fusing some Pro-Sheer Elegance interfacing to the neck facings instead.  I feel the same way about sewing directions like most people feel about speed limits and stop signs....they are merely suggestions. 

The pants are not going well.  I wasted an entire evening pin-fitting McCall's 5710.  Disaster.  I cut the largest size out.  The front fit pretty well after adjusting the crotch depth and length.  The center back was 5 inches from my center back and the waistline was 4 inches lower than my back waistline.  Did they design these for women with absolutley NO hips and NO bootie?!  After messing around for over an hour just adjusting the back, I balled the pattern up and threw it away.  I'm moving on to Vogue 7881.  As I worked on that, I realized that I hadn't preshrunk my fabrics yet.  Great, another evening lost to washing and line drying some fabrics that will still need to be pressed. 

This brings me full circle to my New Year's sewing resolutions.  Sew smarter.  Preshrinking, gathering supplies, reading the pattern directions before cutting the fabric, etc.  I'm a work in progress, I guess.