I finally bought a dress form. I chose one I bought from EBay called the Dress Fitter. She got to work immediately upstairs in my sewing room helping me out with a jacket I'm making from Jalie Pattern 2559 and has been very helpful as I was able to pin the sleeve cap, and hand sew the shoulder pads while the jacket was hanging on the form. She's been christened Madame Beryl, or M.B. and hasn't let me down yet. I feel very "Project Runway" now that I have my own form. It makes a big difference having the garment hang so that you can look at it from all angles.
I've spent most of this week working on Jalie 2559. It's what's sitting on M.B. in the picture above. It's a nice, fitted and lined jacket with princess seams and has been well reviewed on Pattern Review. I'm using a celery green linen that I've had in my stash for several years. This is my first attempt at a jacket and I've been going very slowly. Thankfully the customer service at Jalie is very good as I've had to put it to the test several times this week. I got lost with the welt pockets and also with a step in the lining process. I'm slowly but surely working my way through it and will hopefully have it done by next Sunday. It'll be my first review on Pattern Review.
My work situation changed last week. My contract with the company I had been with for 6 years ended suddenly, so I'm now at a loose end but hey, it couldn't have come at a better time, Spring is here, the weather is improving daily and I'll be able to work on my garden and should have lots of garden pictures in the months to come.
I've also been working up to running 5K and have come from not being able to run for 1 minute 8 weeks ago, to running 28 minutes without stopping. I'm quite amazed with myself. I had intended to run 5K by my 55th birthday yesterday, but haven't quite made it. It looks like that's another week or two away but definitely within range so I'm happy.
Speaking of birthdays, I turned 55 yesterday and had a wonderful day. My husband,took our daughters, son in law (who shares the same birthday) and myself out for dinner to a local Vancouver restaurant called The Cannery. It's been a fixture in Vancouver for many, many years and is right on the waterfront. Sadly it's only going to be open for another week and then will close permanently. It's on land that belongs to the Port of Vancouver and is being shut down as it's right in the middle of a secured area. It's a great old place with good sea food, great service and spectacular views. We're all quite sad that this was our last time there.
I received some amazing gifts,as you can see above and below. First off a fabulous pink, plastic poodle watering can. The picture doesn't do the colour justice. It's a vibrant pink and has googley eyes. Totally tacky and I love it. Then my darling, beautiful, fantastic daughters gave me a Tiffany heart bracelet with Mom engraved on the heart. I've wanted one for a long time and couldn't have been more surprised to be given one. Todd, my son in law, took a beautiful picture of both girls together and gave it to me framed. What a great guy he is and a very good photographer.
Oh and one more thought, now that I'm officially 55 I'll be on the lookout for 55+ discounts at restaurants and golf courses woohoo!!
