I had a bit of a panic weekend before last and attacked my sewing room in a frenzy, pulling projects out of knitting bags, and tossing the various stacks of things to be refashioned, ripped or just finished in a mad flurry of cloth and yarn. I hadn't done that in quite a while and it is amazing what havoc a few moments of frenzy can wreak on a space that took considerable time to sort and organize.
I never found what I was looking for, but I did eventually realize that it never existed. I did however find a skirt I had put aside to take in and subsequently forgotten. It was one of the very few summer items in a stack that is mostly appropriate for fall and winter and has therefore been mostly off the mental radar.
I tried it on and took it apart weekend before last, before life got a little hectic, and only managed to take it in and put it back together this weekend past. I wore it yesterday and it was a bit of a disappointment. I can't say that there is anything wrong with the skirt but that it just wasn't "right" for me, and although the issues were minor, they added a grating edge to a day that had its own share of frustrations.
1. It was still too large, although not that much, 2 to 3 inches in the waist. I could wear it but it kept spinning around. For this, at least I don't blame myself. I did loose a couple of pounds and have been working out, but the effect of this has been somewhat hidden as I had a couple of gluten encounters over the past couple of weeks and those, combined with a couple of courses of prednisone which they required have led to much fluctuation in size, the kind of which I had not seen for a long long time.
2. I had forgotten that I didn't really like the skirt. Oh it is pretty, and I loved it once. But the tops and shoes I once wore with it are gone now, the tops too large and the shoes too small, and I had trouble finding just the right thing. I wore it with a striped tee and espadrilles and it was fine but not quite great, and I was discouraged by not finding anything in my closet that seemed to work correctly with the feel and the proportions of the skirt.
I was disheartened at having spent my precious sewing time altering something which only needed altering again immediately. I was also annoyed at myself for not thinking about the actual garment and how I would wear it. For once I just grabbed something and did it without over-thinking the whole thing and it ended up that I should have thought about it a great deal more than I did.
I spent the evening watching a movie that made me cry (For Love of the Game) and knitting the sleeves to the project that prompted that tossing frenzy mentioned earlier. Somehow, when the evening was over the solution came to me, and I will still have this skirt and a way that I can wear it. After a quick check in the closet, I am sure that the new skirt will work, at least with shoes I currently own, and possibly with a couple of tops, but I really need to make some new tops and blouses anyway.
Although I started the day disappointed that I was just going to rip the skirt apart again immediately, or just toss it aside and call it a casualty of war, it ended on a positive note, and now I am actually looking forward to ripping and refashioning.
More to come.
Comments
8 responses to “Disappointment and a Plan”
That is a beautiful post. I can relate to so many of the feelings you’re describing. I am glad that while focusing on another creation, you managed to work out something for your skirt – it *is* lovely.
That is a beautiful post. I can relate to so many of the feelings you’re describing. I am glad that while focusing on another creation, you managed to work out something for your skirt – it *is* lovely.
I really love that skirt! If I lived closer I’d sneak into your sewing room and snatch it out of the pile for myself. 😉 I know you’ll make it work!
I really love that skirt! If I lived closer I’d sneak into your sewing room and snatch it out of the pile for myself. 😉 I know you’ll make it work!
I’ve decided I loathe alterations. I altered the straps on a cami this weekend and it took an hour?! I learned that it’s easier to just sew things by hand. Someone else’s 🙂 For 5 bucks, that’s an hour I’d prefer to spend otherwise.
I love your description of the once enjoyed item that was enjoyed because of its context. I have many of those things. I used to save them (some I still do) but many I’ve retired because I just can’t keep everything – esp. if I want new things!
You know how Wendy Brandes keeps everything because she doesn’t know when she’ll feel it again. I worry, increasingly, about regretting my ability to get rid of stuff. As my taste improves, I may indeed feel the loss eventually.
I’ve decided I loathe alterations. I altered the straps on a cami this weekend and it took an hour?! I learned that it’s easier to just sew things by hand. Someone else’s 🙂 For 5 bucks, that’s an hour I’d prefer to spend otherwise.
I love your description of the once enjoyed item that was enjoyed because of its context. I have many of those things. I used to save them (some I still do) but many I’ve retired because I just can’t keep everything – esp. if I want new things!
You know how Wendy Brandes keeps everything because she doesn’t know when she’ll feel it again. I worry, increasingly, about regretting my ability to get rid of stuff. As my taste improves, I may indeed feel the loss eventually.
Thank you Isabelle. It is frustrating when something one loves, like this skirt, doesn’t seem to work, and then a joy when the solution appears. I didn’t get started on the new version tonight, but I hope to tackle it soon.
Oh Gigi! I love that skirt too, and I’m so thrilled to have figured something out. I guess it is good not to be too eager to toss the disappointments in the trash. I can’t wait to get started.
K-Line, I loathe alterations too and yet I do some of them. Refashioning is a pain, but I think the results will be worth it. We’ll see anyway.
Thank you Isabelle. It is frustrating when something one loves, like this skirt, doesn’t seem to work, and then a joy when the solution appears. I didn’t get started on the new version tonight, but I hope to tackle it soon.
Oh Gigi! I love that skirt too, and I’m so thrilled to have figured something out. I guess it is good not to be too eager to toss the disappointments in the trash. I can’t wait to get started.
K-Line, I loathe alterations too and yet I do some of them. Refashioning is a pain, but I think the results will be worth it. We’ll see anyway.