Having Fun

 Though quite sunny, yesterday was cool with a high of about 16C. This morning it is foggy and 6C. We are to have showers and a high of 17C today. 

Lifestyle

I was out the door in good time to get X-rays. I arrived early and a volunteer helped me get registered. By the time I went through the registration desk and down to X-rays, I was late. I quickly got ready and waited to be taken in. The technician did 5-6 X-rays and by the time I left I was sore from the positions I had to stand in. I kept saying "no pain, no gain". I went home to rest and have some fluids. 

My next trip was to physio. I took my walking sticks to have them fitted to me. I did a few clumsy practices before I started to get the rhythm. Then it was time for physio. I was sore but the stretching felt good. It was done in stages to allow the muscles to stretch and then relax. I practiced my new yoga movement and then it was time for heat and current. 

I was quite sore for the rest of the day. I did things slowly and applied a lot of heat when I could. I got the garbage out to be picked up and walking did help so I added walking with the sticks to the mix inside. I took an Aleve at bedtime and slept for 7 hours which was nice. I am still a bit sore across the hips this morning. 

Sewing

I divided time between sewing the binding down on the quilt and pattern manipulation. I spent 2 hours on hand sewing and have got about 1/3 of the binding done. The loose threads have glue applied to them and then the binding is folded onto them holding them in place. Not traditional but it works for me. (Excuse the horrid picture)

I am hoping to have it done by Friday afternoon if I'm feeling well enough to do it (flu shot Friday morning). 

I did sit twice to work on dart manipulation. The first time was rushed and I made a huge mess that I put into the recycling bin. While I ate lunch I watched the video again and figured out the steps in my head. 

I did the doll's bodice front first. It was trial and error but I got it done. The sloper has a dart at the waist and I wanted it up at the center neckline. I drew the dart up to the apex point and cut the dart on one line. Then I drew a line from the center front to the apex and slashed it. I had a fragile hinge at the apex dot. 

Next I closed the waist dart which opened the dart at the center front. 

I added a scrap of paper to the opening and taped it in place. I folded the dart so the excess was towards the shoulder seam and cut the neckline out to get the dart shape. 

I need to get the French curve ruler up to fix the curve at the waistline. I will look at other patterns and see if they are straight across or have a slight curve. 

I repeated the process with the lady's bodice which has two darts. More drawing and cutting but it worked out perfectly. 

This shows you how much the dart will curve over the body though I have it curving the wrong way. When I do both patterns the next time, I will have to decide where I want the dart to end. These end at the apex. 

I had a lot of fun doing this exercise and will repeat it. The goal is to decide how long to make the dart and add seam allowances in preparation to sewing them up. I will need to trace the bodice back and add the seam allowances to it. Once the quilt is done, I want to do a trial run to see how it looks. 

The other project I want to work on is measuring the Gotz doll and see if I can design a bodice pattern for them. I have watched enough videos to realize that I need a lot of measurements to be successful in getting a pattern that fits them. I am sure it will be a slow process as I work through the steps. 

Knitting

I knit 12 rows on the vest last night. It is satisfying seeing the back be ready to cast off. 

It looks long and skinny but it will stretch to be wider and shorter when I put it on. I am looking forward to having a nice vest to wear this winter. If all goes well, I hope to finish the last 12 rows tonight. 

Today

I have an appointment for a hair cut this morning. I want to do some housework afterwards and then hand sew on the binding. Not sure if I will do any pattern work as I may go and watch grandson play soccer this afternoon. I want to knit tonight. 

Until the next time...........................................................