This Semester's Class

I am making a formal study of French darts. I bought the Megan Nielsen Dove Blouse pattern:

The Maven Patterns French Dart Shift (I had to buy it through their Etsy store because of the VAT tax, so if you’re in the US, be aware of that):

And the Christine Haynes Varda Dress:

Karina of the Lifting Pins and Needles YouTube channel made and reviewed the Varda Dress. Karina and I are of similar height and shape, so if something looks good on her, I know it has a good chance of being flattering on me, too.

I still have to get the New Look pattern. Will I make each of these? Probably not right away, but comparing different patterns is the best way to get this information into my brain. I’ll likely start by making the Dove blouse. I’m not a huge fan of either curved or hi-lo hems, so I might change that, but maybe I’ll make it according to the pattern. The tricky part with any pattern is going to be making sure the dart is in the correct location for my body.

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I worked on quilting the baby quilt yesterday afternoon. Of course, it took me an hour to decide how to quilt it; I wanted to use rulers but did not have one that was the correct size. I knew I did not want to do an edge-to-edge design, either. In the end, I settled on a free motion pattern within the hourglass blocks that is simple and delicate. I like it. I wish I had more confidence in my FMQ skills, but I also know that the way to become confident is to do it.

The husband notes that the solenoid replacement kit he ordered for the BMW has shipped and should be here this week. He already got the parts to fix the heater. I suspect the BMW will be spending next weekend in his shop.

The end of this week will be busy. I am playing piano for the funeral of one of our neighbors—who also happens to be a cousin to Elaine—on Friday. Elaine’s brother, Ken, will be the song leader. I would have attended the funeral in any case, but am glad it worked out for me to help with the service. And I moved my sewing class from a few weeks ago to this Saturday. The original class was scheduled for that weekend when it was -30F and no one wanted to be out and about.

Today is podcast editing day. I expect this episode to take additional time to edit because it was a two-hour interview. I am sticking to my plan to offer a short version focusing on sewing as well as the longer version. Listeners can choose their own adventure.