The Shirt of My Dreams?

True, most people have a house of their dreams or some car they just can't seem to get out of their minds. I don't really. I love our new home. It's not perfect and isn't even fully finished, but I love it. I don't know if it's really the house of my dreams, though. I don't think I've ever really had one, and if I did, it would have a "breezeway" like my grandparents' house had when I was a kid. I certainly haven't ever really had my heart set on one particular car. A perfectly-fitting shirt, though. That's something worth dreaming about.

I'm what you might call well-endowed (though, the word "cursed" more frequently comes to mind) even when I'm not pregnant or breastfeeding. Each time I have a kid, though, certain parts of my upper body expand. I guess I should consider myself lucky my waistline hasn't really been one of those parts (at least not permanently), but the Pamela Anderson effect caused by some parts growing while others stay the same isn't actually the look I'd like to go for. "Urban Prostitute" just isn't a style that does it for me, you know? All this makes buying clothing a bit of a challenge, especially in a country that is apparently populated with stick-figures.

One of my favorite shirt styles, and one that is said to be figure flattering for us big girls, is the wrap-around shirt. Draws the attention upward toward the face. I think you see what I mean, here. I love these shirts. The problem is that I'm not really a big person all over. There's just that pesky chest region. So, when I get a wrap-around blouse that fits my shoulders and the rest of my torso, it's too tight on the girls, which is hardly flattering. I'd probably have to get into the Women's sizes to fit right around the chest, but then I'm swimming in the rest of the shirt. Needless to say, shopping isn't as fun as it used to be.

So, I've been working on developing my own pattern that should be perfectly suited to my body. I mentioned this book the other day. It's been a huge help. No guess work. Just lots of information on how to do it right. And, once I got the basic bodice pattern down, I am now able to move on to other designs - like that wrap-around shirt I've been wanting. I'm so excited about how it's turning out, I have to mention it now even before finishing it.

Here it is:

This is my practice fabric. It's just an old sheet I got for about 33 cents at the thrift shop the last time I was there. I actually kind of like it, and my worst critic (husband) says it doesn't look like I made a shirt out of a sheet.

So far, I've only had the time to make the fronts. I'll try to get to the back tonight. I am planning to buy some bias tape to do the tie and the edging with. I thought I would use green to bring out the green leaves and stems on the flowers, but we'll see how I like that color when I get ahold of some green. I just wish I had some now. You know how hard it is to handle the suspense while you wait to get to the store. I've at least been able to put it up to myself for a make-shift fitting, and it fits just like I wanted it to. That's the great thing about designing it myself. No cleavage show, or anything, because I chose where to put the neck line.

Oh, and as for the other pictures in this post. I do realize they are totally unrelated to the topic, but I wanted to show the pictures from our Easter egg hunt. It's been almost a week, though, so it's a bit late to talk much about it now.

Okay, that's enough blogging for now. The kids are "washing" the windows, and I'm a little afraid to go see how it's going, but I feel I really must intervene.