Went to a friend's place last night and I got the worst heart burn I might have ever had.  I have a weak stomach so it's not surprising that I woke up ill to my tummy this morning.  So I took off the morning from work and am currently still in PJ's, on my couch, wearing my new NaNo hoodie, kick'en it with my Chinchillas.  :)

I studied JGibson's Simplest Cap of All pattern and I think with the help of knittinghelp.com I might just be able to muddle through it on my own.  I also found a knitting shop that's between me and my best friend, which makes it all that much easier to get to - plus they're open late a few nights a week which is so much better for me as the other shops I could only get over for a Saturday morning.  I'm going to muddle through it tonight hopefully and see if I can't figure it out.  I still have some of the Vannah White yarn in pea green and some in navy I can use on a tester to see if I know what I'm doing.

Okay, so I got the fabric swatch for my friend Danielle's wedding.  This wedding is a lot of DIY, which I love and hate.  Love because it's my best friend's wedding, hate because I'm going to obsess about making the dress simple and perfect and comfortable.  I only have until the last day of October for finishing it because I'm doing NaNo and I don't need the weirdness of trying to finish a dress and write all those words at the same time.  I still need to figure out where I'm getting the fabric from, and the parameters; she wants us to all dress differently.  Here's the problem - I don't like following patterns.  I spent a bit of time looking through a few websites and dresses and I've picked out some that I feel I could do in purple and layer with some sheer material and perhaps spruce up with some beading or something.  At the bottom are some pictures I'm leaning towards.



(on the left) I don't really know that I like how I think this black dress would fit; it looks interesting on the dummy, but I question all that sheer layering and whatnot.  I think it would end up looking like a bag if I made it.

I like the very simple design of this dress (on the right) ; I picture it in a deep purple, the skirt lengthened and perhaps a simple border on the hem.  Not even anything special, just a satin, ribbon border.



(on the left) This one - for sure would need a longer hem.  I think I'm more drawn to the idea of embellishing the collar - though I have to think about my tattoos and that a lacy neck frill like this would just overpower my top half.

And this next one (on the right), I think just really drew me in on the neckline and the interesting shoulder-wing looking things.  The cinched waist has me a bit leery just because I gained weight and I really don't know that this would look good on someone who's not a twig.  Just being honest!  While I really like the overall design of it, I do question if it would be a good idea considering a huge factor to me is comfort.

Next up (on the left) is a simple, V-neck dress with a hemline I feel would be more comfortable for me.  I might have to tighten up the V, the wedding's very conservative and I anticipate being very busy and I want to wear something I feel comfortable working and wearing and what not.

I looked around at patterns and found some that could work.  Some of them, like the Butterick 4443, I feel like I own this pattern already.  It wouldn't surprise me; the dresses are all fairly nice, you could make several from these patterns by using solids or prints and whatnot.  However, it's not exactly what I want - but I like it well enough I might see about getting it to have for later.  I need a better organizational system for the few patterns I still have and will probably buy.  The McCalls M5001 is one I'd use in a heartbeat - if we were using a shimmery fabric.  I think that in the matte one that's been selected it would just look like a big grape.  I need to talk to Dani and see what her feelings are on embellishing the dresses.  The McCalls M5879 might just be the pattern I use!  I like the one in pink - picture that in purple, with maybe some satiny purple ribbing on the neck, arm holes, and hem.  Maybe some tool on the bottom, and I could see me doing some light embroidery in a similar shade of purple just because I think it could turn a very simple dress - absolutely fabulous - but again, I need the brides okay!  The McCalls M5833 is sort of similar, but has an added, strange thing in front I might like - I need to see a pattern to really figure it out, but it might be a backup if the M5879 doesn't pan out.

All in all, I'm ready to tackle this project so be ready for more to come!

Well, it's 10:00 am, I should probably think about doing something with my morning; like shower or knit or clean the Chin cage or something ya know?  More to come later on my sewing and knitting craziness!