Crafty weekend

My shoes arrived yesterday and, unfortunately, none of them fit quite right. So back they all go. I've already placed another order with a new batch of hopefuls (like the Cole Haan pumps above). I've been on a quest to find the perfect pair of black pumps for the longest time now. I so rarely wear heels that I have no patience for shoes that hurt the minute you put them on or after standing in them for 2 minutes. And I refuse to get granny shoes. I also think that my feet are oddly shaped compared to whatever models the shoe designers of the world are using (and I seem to wear something between a 5.5 and a 6, which doesn't exist), but I remain hopeful that I will eventually find the right pair. Some day when I'm rich and famous, I'll have shoes made from molds of my feet! For now, though, thank goodness for free shipping and free returns with a huge selection of shoes.

In other news ---

Progress on the Crepe Dress: None. I was waiting for the next steps in the sewalong, but they seem to be coming very slowly, so I'm thinking I might just run ahead on my own. I found a tutorial on threadsmagazine.com about facings and interfacings, and with the muslins I've gone through, I have already practiced the rest of the bodice twice now. I think I'll wait for the posts when it comes to dealing with the skirt, however.

Progress on the Pendrell Blouse: I ran a zigzag stitch along the cut edges of my fabric and ran it through the washer, so my fabric is all prepped. I didn't want to cut into the original pattern, so I taped the pieces to our sliding glass door and traced them onto freezer paper (it's cheap and comes in a big roll). My bust and waist measurements match the size 6, but my hips are 4" smaller since the pattern is meant for pear shapes, which I am not. So I reduced each of the seams by 1/3" (8.5mm). The pattern is also quite long, but I don't like to tuck my blouses in (they never look quite right on me), so I shortened the pieces by 4 1/4" for a final blouse length of 22". My pattern pieces are now cut out and ready for the next step of the sewalong.

Progress on the Blackberry Cardigan: The first sleeve is blocking and I'm working on sleeve 2 while watching the Seahawks vs. Bears. The game is rather painful to watch right now as a Seahawks fan, so I'm glad to have something else to concentrate on.