Sleeves On Saturdays Revisited/The Square Shoulder Sleeve

 An interesting comment was recently left on an Instagram post, you always look so happy. What's interesting is that some days, that is so very far from how I actually feel. I replied that a smile is always a good thing. 

A few years ago, I learned a valuable lesson. A dear friend of mine was going through a very difficult time. His brother had committed suicide, and his suicide cost my friend pretty much his entire life savings. He had leveraged everything in order to try and save his brother. Truly a heartbreaking story. But, what I found interesting is that even at his lowest moments, if he was asked how he was doing, his reply was, "wonderful, just wonderful." The saying of "time heals all wounds" is sadly just not true. I know that my friend still wrestles with the why of his brother's death. He always wears a Harley Davidson t-shirt that belonged to his brother under his shirt when he attends church. He told me that it's his way of taking his brother to church with him. 

Watching him go through this incredibly difficult time, and seeing how he chose to deal with it, taught me about speaking faith over my days, and the situations that some days hold. His way of speaking faith was to simply reply, wonderful, when life was anything but. When I am asked how I am doing, my reply has become, "I'm good." It's not grammatically correct(so what!), but it's my way of speaking faith over the things that I may be dealing with that make my heart ache.

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As I shared, my little 1 year challenge is going well. I have yet to miss a day of wearing a garment that I made, and posting pictures. I have recently started doing short videos as I think it enhances the garment. It's always nice to really see how a garment fits, and moves.

I originally posted the 2 tops that I am sharing today in 2014!!! Hard to believe that it's been 6 years ago. And I'm still wearing them! A little note about clothing care...I put very few things in the dryer. My laundry room usually looks like a yard sale with all of my things hanging to dry. But, the heat of the dryer can be very destructive to fibers. 

The pattern that I used for both tops is a free pattern from Deer And Doe, the Plantain T-Shirt. You can find it HERE.

The red striped top was the 3rd sleeve that I did in the squared shoulder sleeve series. With this one, I accented the seams in the sleeve with a strip of red fabric, and repeated the red fabric around the neckline, and the hemline of both the sleeves and the top. You can find my post on this top HERE.  

I was out at the airport yesterday. Whenever I get the chance, I am going to pose on the stairs of a jet!!! 

The post on this sleeve can be found HERE. The difference with this sleeve and the 1 above is that the center panel on the red sleeve is rounded, and the center panel of the black is squared in the traditional manner of drafting the sleeve. With this top, to add a little extra interest, I cut the stripe on the bias and used that to bind the neckline and the hemline.   

Hope you enjoy the video :) 

By the way, you can always easily access my Sleeves On Saturdays by clicking on the tab at the top of the blog page.

I hope that regardless of what's happening in your life, you will be able to join me and say, "I'm good." You may not feel good in the moment, but you are making a declaration that good is coming. And, it is :)

Rhonda

Thrifty Thursday

Hi Everyone!! So sorry about missing the Wednesday Showcase yesterday. I sat down to write and I was just so very tired, so I thought...hoped, no one would kill me for missing one week ;)
I am back with a new pattern for Thrifty Thursday. In the event that you missed last week's post, I'll do a quick catch up for you. There are so many of the independent pattern companies that are offering really nice patterns for free and I think it is such a wonderful thing for them to do. It gives us, the consumers, a chance to try out their patterns free of charge and  test out their sizing as well as the pattern with only the cost of some paper and ink, and of course our fabric and time, but that's beside the point! Last week I showcased two patterns to kick off this new feature. I showed you the Yellow Tail Camisole that I made using the free pattern from Disparate Disciplines and the Hemlock Tee from Grainline Studios. By the way, I loved them both and have worn them a few times now. Both are well worth the paper, ink and time spent taping the patterns together.
This week I am showcasing the Plantain T-Shirt from Deer and Doe Patterns.

The pattern comes graded, so there are a number of sizes to choose from, very nice. They do provide a sizing chart which makes it quite easy to choose your appropriate size. You also have the choice of a long or 3/4 length sleeve. It flares at the hips, so it is a very flattering silhouette. I did add 2" to the length of my top as I wanted mine to be a little longer. The only other alteration I made was I that need to take up the shoulders just a bit. Other than that, it was sew and go!

For a little added interest, the pattern comes with elbow pads. Such fun. I made my top out of a tie dye knit. As I was looking through my fabrics, I came across some Missoni knit scraps that just happened to have the same colors as the tie dye running through the narrow stripes, so I used the scraps to make my elbow pads. To attach my elbow pads, I simply did a narrow zigzag all the way around them.

In order to download the pattern, you will need to create an account with Deer and Doe, but it is very easy to do. There are 5 pieces to the pattern, the front, back, sleeve, neckband and the elbow pad. I love it when a pattern includes everything you'll need to make the pattern.
I found the pattern to be well drafted and very easy to make. This is a French company, but the instructions are in French as well as English, so as long as you speak one of those two languages, you won't have a problem. To be honest, the instructions really aren't necessary as the pattern is so easy to put together. You can find the pattern here, http://boutique.deer-and-doe.fr/29-tops-plantain-t-shirt.html I think you'll find it to be a welcome addition to your pattern collection!
Enjoy!!