I hate shopping

Let me preface this to say that I'm talking about apparel. Not yarn or other craft items.

A recent post over on Franklin's blog sent me into my semi-annual tirade about not being able to find clothing and shoes that fit. That, coupled with the fact that the one store in town that carried 'real' jeans (not these stretchy, over embroidered trendy pieces of drek you see now), decided to discontinue this line. As I was told by a sales clerk "Nobody wears that style anymore." EEEEEHHH, good answer thanks for playing. I do.

I am (unlike most of the natural world) very tall for a woman. Six feet to be exact. With a 34/36" inseam and a 46" outseam. I am also very overweight, so I need clothes that are large as well as long. This seems to classify me as a freak of nature. Tall = thin, fat = short. Making clothes to fit a tall fat woman makes designers heads go all assplody.

Shoes are another issue. I wear a size 12A/B. I have since my freshman year of college. When I first hit a 12, they were more narrow. Like AAAA narrow. With a AAAAAA heel. I was able to find dress shoes after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, but for the most part I wore men's sneakers and thick socks. I still do this. And I haven't worn actual heels for about 4 years.

So, it is time to clear off my cutting table (again) and start making clothes for myself (again). I usually entertain this option a couple of times a year, but now that I have time (oh, yeah, I lost another job, but that is a whole 'nother story) I can probably actually get something done.

Sockapalooza!

OK, I signed up for Sockapalooza 4. Why? Because Leigh said it would be fun. And it's an excuse to buy sock yarn. And to knit socks. And to get a new pair of socks.

I actually have two paying sewing gigs coming up. The first one is to sew eyelets into a dress. This will be the toughest, because it's a dress that is laced from the waist to the neckline, and the eyelets need to be 1/2" to 3/4" apart, and the girl is LONG waisted.

The second one is to sew maternity tops for a friend who is expecting twins. As she said, she's tired of the yoke of the shirt not coming down past her boobs. I don't say that I blame her.

I've been applying for new jobs, but haven't been successful at even getting an interview. There are so many things that I can do, but it's really hard to translate it onto paper.