Thinking About Design Elements

 Yesterday started off with snow and turned to rain by 8:30 am. It rained all day and the high got to 1C. This morning it is cloudy and -1C (windchill -8C) and the ground is covered with snow. Today is going to be cloudy with a high of 0C (windchill -10).

Lifestyle

Before going to make sandwiches at the community hall, I did shovel a bit of the driveway and salted it ready for when I came home. The drive to the hall was okay and highways was out scraping and salting the main roads. By the time I got home, the roads were good. 

It was fun to make sandwiches yesterday. I cut and arranged them on trays. I then helped do the basic set up in the hall for the celebration of life in the afternoon. 

Once home, I was out to scrape the driveway of the snow and slush. It took me 30 minutes to get the driveway clean and salted. But I was proud that I had got it done. I was also proud that I did a 3 foot piece of the road in front of my property. All was good. 

I was out to help at the celebration of life at the hall. Daughter-in-law and I did some cleaning up as we waited. We are trying to get things organized as our brains work the same way. One of the volunteers came to help us which was nice. We served coffee and tea to people after the small service and then monitored the food area. After getting 85% of the clean up done, the volunteer and I left. Daughter-in-law had very little left to do. 

I had my friend over for dinner last night. We had gnocchi with meat sauce, a salad, garlic bread, and raspberries. We really enjoyed ourselves and had great conversations and many good laughs. 

Sewing

I didn't sew yesterday as I was too busy. But I did do some prep work for proportion on doll clothes. It is about visual balance when looking at clothing. It is about scale of the pattern, fabric print, and accessories. It is not a science but more of how does this look. 

This month, we are to choose a pattern and sew it. You can design it if you want to but I decided to choose Butterick 6431 to make. 

I made this pattern 8 years ago for the fabric store I worked in. It was to promote some fabric and this pattern which worked. When I look at this pattern today I see

    The break at the bodice, it is 1/3 the length of the front of the skirt. I know this as I measured it. 

    The fabric chosen for the skirt is too big for the pattern. It looks overwhelming on the doll. 

    The flower at the waist is just too big as it is on the purse. 

I would not have sewn this pattern looking at the envelope if I saw it today. I did look at the line drawing and it was more helpful but I am not sure if it is to scale. 

I am still deciding on what fabric to use. I have a cotton fabric that I like and may use it. I also have some satin that is perfect for the dress but it is in cream. I would have to look at fabrics for an overlay. I have them in the doll's stash. 

Knitting

I knit a few rounds on the socks I have set up. I also ditched the scarf I was working on and have found a new pattern for it. I was too tired to go looking for the right size needles last night to start the scarf. 

Thoughts

    We had enough snow fall last night for me to shovel the driveway sometime today. I will get it done and salted for safety reasons. My SI joint hates me shovelling but I can get it to release with my stretching exercises. I need the exercise which trumps over the SI joint. 

    My allergies are getting better but the cough is still lingering. It isn't a cold but it could be the dry air in buildings.  It isn't the horrid cough I had in Montevideo but it is still annoying. 

Today

    I am going to do some cleaning upstairs this morning and clean the driveway when it isn't as windy. I have to make soup this morning so I will focus on cleaning the kitchen. This afternoon I would like to sew on the doll's coat. Tonight I want to knit. A quiet day for me. 

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