And then this bird...

Mr Snork pulled off the I-5 to drop into our favorite GMart in Laguna Niguel, and there, along the off ramp, was the most beautiful stork looking bird.  Like this one:

Except, not by a lake, and far from the ocean.  Well, a 10 minute flight anyway.  I get super frantic, trying to figure out how to rescue the clearly lost confused bird.  (By stuffing in it in the back of the trucklet, of course, and taking it down to Dana Point swamps, from which we just came, and where it clearly belongs. )

Mr Snork, who's gotten creepy good at mind reading, gets frantic in turn, with, "Do you know what will happen to us with that bird in the vehicle??!"  He's also gotten wicked good with thwarting any good plan I have, and generally raining on my parades.   He got downright dramatic with, "It'll peck our eyes out, and beat us with its wings and claws".  Seriously.  I mean, it's a bird.  How hard could it be.  We could keep the windows open, and the wind G forces should keep it in the back.  

So, I try to appeal to his apparently nonexistant humanitarian side - He's lost!  And confused!  Look at him!!  His beak is made for fish, and here he is, on the side of the highway.  He is sad, and hungry, and he needs to be taken to a swamp, to eat!  

In all fairness, it really did look out of place, stalking around gingerly,  like he was trying to step around broken glass and cigarette butts, shaking his tiny head..  Until.. and phawk if, in the middle of my bird saving tirade, he didn't gracefully bend his tiny sad head into the grass, and come up with the biggest mouse ever.  With a wiggling tail, and everything.  And ATE it, with his skinny fish beak, and delicate throat, that apparently expands to fit mice size of sewer rats. 

The look Mr Snork gave me as the light turned green was something special.  I can tell my credibility as a wildlife expert has suffered a setback today it might take years to recover from, to say the least.

Vogue 8438 Part II (The Good)

Coming together. 

Kinda nicely.  Especially on Nora, who still has a waist..

I tried to use the bias tape sleeve setting method I picked up on Gertie's sewing blog, but somehow failed and they still look 'gathered' at the caps.  Could be because for lack of other wool materials, I used a stretchy old sock.  It acted like an elastic would..

Channeling skinny thoughts to Strawberry:

I just noticed another bit of unfairness in the pattern illustration.  The drawing's neck sticks out for a good 3" out of the collar.  I have decided this is an anatomical impossibility, unless you are part swan.  Or giraffe. 

Their drawings really bug me. 

The waist still hasn't been moved up, and the whole thing needs to be lengthened, but I'm thinking it's Bright Purple Cordiroy time!

Vogue 8438, Part I (The Ugly)

I had all these dresses I meant to make, to take advantage of my new temporary boob situation, empire waists, strappy, good for belly, good for boobs, etc.  Then I came across (during pattern sale) and decided I must. make. this coat.

Even though it's fitted, and therefore progressively less and less wearable for the next at least 4 months.    By then it'll be June, in SoCal, so, can safely add another 3 months.  I think it was the giant collar that drew me in.  And, when there was a corresponding purple cordiroy in the clearance isle, it was like it's meant to be, so I set out to make pretty coat. 

The instructions seemed easy, easier than dress bodice instructions, actually.  So, I thought I'd cut a straight size 12 and see where we go from there.   Here's take one:

I mean.  No words are needed.  Even if we ingored the uni-sleeve (what was the point of doing the other one at this point..), and the collar that I pressed wrong (it doesn't need to be pressed at all), and stitched on wrong twice, and the belly.  Mr Snork sensing a huge meltdown, kindly volunteered himself to rip the seam the second time.   I should have lined up the center front together for the picture, but I was pretty sure I will never sew again, and didn't really feel like documenting this last adventure.  It didn't make much difference anyway, it hung like a bathrobe.

Here's a back view. 

Sensing my sizing was a little off, I asked Mr Snork to put it on.  -->

It actually looked like it had potential on him.  (Minus the collar.  It would look good on nobody, ever)

I swore off sewing, and went to bed after this picture.  Pity, too, I wish I had taken more for comparison.   

It even looked terrible on Nora, and nothing, ever, looks bad on Nora.  Everything I have ever made, no matter how crappy on me, has looked spectacular on Nora.  

This morning, I tried to talk myself into just winging it, figuring it's a coat, and therefore, should be baggy.  I *really* want to get into that purple cordiroy.  But then I looked at pattern envelope. 

 I hate when they draw pictures instead of having real people model it. It always gives me hope, like, "well..  that's what it looks like on Barbie.. but, on a *real* person, like me, it should probably look like this.." pan to me wearing a hobo sack, looking hopefully in the mirror, stiffly holding my arms 1" higher in their sockets, to keep the sack from falling off.    

Then I pictured hobo sack in bright purple, and it just didn't do it for me.  A quick scan on PR revealed the 3 people who've made it don't look like potato sack wearers either.  Must not be part of the design element.  Bummer.

Newly energized by the helpful people on PR, who kindly informed me about the princess seams, and where they should lay (not under the armpits), I tore off the offensive muslin collar and trashed it along with the sleeve, tore the bodice down every seam, and redrew a size 10. 

After this picture, I let it out 1/4" at the sides.  I can't really suck in 5 month fetus in enough to gauge what it would look like post baby, but it seemed a wee snug.  I still have to smuggle a lining under there, and I don't like my coats super tight.

There.  I might not give up sewing after all.  The waist needs to be brought up 1/4", and will add 2" or 3" to the length. 

I think I might be OK with it enough to make another collar and a sleeve.  If I managed to make this in the next couple weeks, I might still fit into it at completion time. 

If not, I'll let Nora wear it until next winter.  

Now I'm back to fantasizing about what color lining I can put in.   Bright pink?  Teal?  Green?  Something with frogs on it??