I don't know if you guys know of this, or are following the news about the middle east, but the IDF killed a top Hamas commander today. We've been under rocket fire for a very long time now (I live in the south of Israel) but I feel like this is going to make it much worse. The news is talking of Israeli forces being gathered in the Gaza Strip border (which may mean war) and the Hamas are threatening with strong retaliation. I just heard on the news that at least 70 rockets have fallen in the last 4 hours, some of them very close to my home town. It feels pretty terrible waking up in the middle of the night to sirens and being afraid for the life of your friends and family all the time. It's surreal that we've lived in this situation for so long and that it's getting even worse, and we're still managing to live our lives. I've lived through quite a few wars here in Israel and I keep being overwhelmed with the idea that this is my reality.
I don't mean this to be a political statement, I don't think this is the right platform to talk of these things, I just thought of sharing my private feelings and how it feels to be just a normal citizen in an extraordinary situation like this.
Anyway, moving on to lighter and more blog appropriate things -
I've made a new shirt! I actually wore this shirt to my first day of work! It was really exciting!
I took my own advice (and Modcloth's) and used bias binding as an embellishment. I quite like the effect! Making the bias tape wasn't as tedious as I thought it would be as the bias pieces are pretty short. A tip from me to you while making bias strips from a slippery fabric - LOAD UP ON THE STARCH! I starched the bejeezuz out of the bias strips, it was the only way to make them stable enough to actually iron them. I made the starch myself by mixing a glass of hot water and three table spoons of starch and letting is cool to room temperature.
I made this with the remnants of the Cinderella Dress. Can you believe I had this much left?? I had enough to make another half of a shirt, which I did and will show you soon!
It's really slinky and feels great to wear, the only thing is that every little drop of water CREATES A HUGE WATER STAIN. After five minutes at work I managed to spray myself with water from the sink in the bathroom and almost cried. I hate hard to manage fabrics, I don't know why I'm so attracted to them and I never think of how problamatic they are when I do my fabric shopping, it's like I'm a child, I can't think ahead.
(How impressive is my Jesus picture? Let us all imagine this is what I looked like when I figured out how to make these sleeves: (with a bunch of white cloak clad angels singing "Ahhhhhhh" in the background))
After thinking about it for a few minutes I managed to figure out how to attach everything to everything without leaving raw edges. I just LOVE figuring stuff out! The bias strips are still a little stiff from the STARCH which makes the sleeve look a little wonky but other than that I LOVE the way it turned out!
While trying this shirt on in one of my many fit-checks (do you guys to this too? I feel like a third of the time I spend sewing I'm trying on stuff) I decided the shirt looks too blank, after much thought I decided to make a little bow and attach it to the front of the neckline. As you can tell I changed me mind since then (apparently even if I do a lot of thinking I can never make up my mind) and opted to attach it on the left side... I think it's cuter this way! I managed to make the cutest little bow in the world, it perfectly proportioned (have you noticed how difficult it is to achieve the perfect proportion between the bow and the band in the middle?). see?
HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
I created a curved hem for both the front and the back - I think it's such a flattering silhouette! Especially in the back, it gives your but a but-lift! who doesn't want that?
I finished the sleeves and the neckline and sleeves with bias strips and serged the bottom of the shirt and hemmed it without bothering too much with it.
What do you guys think? Let me know if you have any question about making the sleeves or anything about the blouse!
Also, I'd be happy to answer question about my first paragraph, but please express yourself in a respectful way, I'm sure you don't all agree with whatever is going on, but this isn't the place to express your thought if you don't, unless you really want to ask honest questions, which I'd be happy to answer.
Thanks for reading! I hope you're having a good week!
