Fight Like A Girl

I'm sure my postings are going to become sporadic for a while, but I'll still be around. I've been spending so much time on my papercrafting blog, I'm Black Martha, I'm neglecting this one.
This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month. As you all know I am a 2 year survivor. My cancer is in remission or at least I think it is. More on that later. Every time I see or hear "Fight like a girl," I cringe. To me "fighting like a girl" evokes visions of scratching, biting, kicking, and hair pulling. Frankly I find it insulting and belittling. What I'd rather see is "Fight like Ali" or "Fight like Mayweather" or "Fight like ________," Frazier, Holmes, Thomas"Hitman" Hearns, Evander Holyfield, or even the ear-biting, tatooed face, Mike Tyson. Any of the great's name could be placed in the blank. Can you tell I'm a boxing fan? I want cancer to be fought with some ass-kicking, punch-throwing, raw power. I'm talking rope-a-doping, butterfly-floating, and bee-stinging all against breast cancer. Fight like a girl just doesn't work for me. I just had to get that off my chest.

Is my cancer in remisson? Right now I'm not sure. I finally talked the orthopedic surgeon into doing my knee replacement surgery although he would still like mr to try and wait 6 years! WTF. Is he crazy? I'm already bone-to-bone on one knee with only a sliver of cartilege left on the other. So the surgery is scheduled for November 11th. The problem is that I have to get the okay from my PCP to have the surgery done. Lately I've had lots of disccomfort in my right breast and I just feel like something is wrong. Although their are no symptoms associated with BC, I am having all the same issues I had when my cancer was first diagnosed. I've been talking to my husband about it and he says I'm justing coming down with a cold. I hope he's right. The only other thing could be that I'm having the same fluid buildup that I've had in the past. I can only hope. For now I'll just have to sit and wait and hope that the phone doesn't ring with the dreaded news.

Simplicity 2284 in Fleece

I finally finished this jacket. I've had the fleece since last season but couldn't settle on what to do with it. I'm really loving Cheetah print these days and decided to try to do something with the fleece that wouldn't be so casual. I think the very nature of fleece tends to make it casual.

I've sewn Simplicity 2284 before and decided it would be a good choice because of the princess seams. I pressed the princess open and topstitched on both sides of the seam. The only other changes I made were to eliminate the center back seam and to eliminate the facings and lining. I bound the edges with a braided binding that I found at Haberman Fabrics in Royal Oak MI...62 miles away.

The only problem was that I only bought three yards. Surely three yards would be enough to bind the entire jacket and sleeve. What was I drinking.  I was about a foot short on the binding. Luckily my husband was working well south of Haberman's and was able to take a small detour and pick some more up. Whatta man. Next up is a LBD out of Simplicity 2648. I have to have something to wear with it...don't I.

What I'm working on

I'm still working on the fleece animal print jacket. I should have been finished but I needed foldover binding. I broke down and drove 62 miles to Haberman Fabrics in Royal Oak, Michigan to spend $6 for what I needed. And "no", that is not all I got. I couldn't possible drive all that way and not pick up a few extra things. I bought a few bra-making supplies but that was it.

Can you believe this picture? That is an entire sheet of Bounty paper towel covered in my blood. I was serging the sleeve seam on my fleece jacket. What happened next happened so fast all I know is my Kai thread snips slid off my sewing table and before they made contact with the floor, they made contact with my leg. It's looked like I was bleeding to death. The entire lower outside of my ankle and foot were covered in blood. I was bleeding all over the floor and the first thing I grabbed was that paper towel. It was laying on the top of the trash so I hope I don't wide up with the "heebee geebees." Talk about a freak acciden!. The cut only looks to be about 1/8" long but boy did it scare me. It took a few minutes for me to realize I needed to elevate my leg to help stop the bleeding.

I'm sure you all know this is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Make sure you are doing monthly self-exams and if you haven't already, call and schedule your yearly mammogram. I won't be able to participate in any of the Breast Cancer walks this year (bum knee) but I'm still doing my part. I'm making cards to give to a local women's clinic. If you'd like to see some of what I've been up to lately, visit my card blog at I'm Black Martha.

'Til next time!

I'm still here

I can't believe I haven't blogged in over a week. I haven't done a lot of sewing but some. I'm currently working on a  Simplicity jacket pattern that I'm making out of fleece. I need to find the perfect binding to be able to finish it.

I had a failed attempt at another bra using a different pattern. My technique wasn't the problem...the fit was. I've learned that there is no standard for bra patterns. Each designer decides what size to call them just like in RTW garments. I made the mistake of trying a different pattern and it was a disaster. I hate that you really don't know whether the bra will fit or not until you are finished. Part of the problem is I'm not trusting my own instincts because bra-making is so new to me. Yes, the cups looked too large before I started but I didn't trust myself enough to try a smaller size. I know that if you have the greatest stretch going vertical and put something heavy in it, it will stretch more. Again, a trust issue. I'm going to keep at it because the two bras that I've made since the workshop are the most comfortable I've ever worn. BTW did you know that the average bra size is now 36DD? That's right.

I'm on my laptop because once again my desktop is in for repair--yep, another nasty virus. I love my laptop for laying in bed and goofing around on the internet but when I need to be productive, I want my desktop. I had to go to the bank yesterday and frankly I didn't even know how to conduct my transaction. I've always handled my bills online!

While doing laundry Wednesday morning around 4 a.m., I heard what I thought was someone breaking into the house. Picture me running into the laundry room with morning breath, sans wig, makeup, shoes and wearing ratty old pj's, wielding a 9 mm, shouting freeze mutha*#@*%* to the washer and dryer! Is that funny or what?? Called my husband at work to inform him that I would be going against his wishes and getting a new washer and dryer and a cooktop and if he didn't like it he could get the "F" out. I didn't say the word...I actually said "F." It seems he knew the shell of the washing machine had broken away from the frame. He knew but failed to tell me. The darn thing is a relic from about 15 years ago and I don't know why he was trying to hang onto it. Needless to say, my new appliances are being delivered today!