The things you do when you don't do what you should do

I had a huge to-do list for this weekend. Yesterday I blew most of it off. I chose instead to go for a run at the gym (day one of week 5!), and then I did some ab work- I can actually see a tiny bit of difference in my middle already, which is pretty fantastic. After I got back from the gym I moseyed upstairs to the pool, realized I forgot a towel, but managed to find one and get back up to the roof and take a dip despite my apparent lack of mental acuity post-run. The pool felt so delightful, though I only paddled about a few minutes and then read a bit in the sun. I am not a sun-worshipper by any means, but sometimes I just love to spend a half hour soaking it in. After my dip, I went straight to Silver Spring and watched The Muppet Movie at the AFI Silver. It was fantastic, though my pal Ben and I were about the only adults there sans kiddies. Nobody sang along, which I found a bit upsetting. We walked over to Downtown Silver Spring for dinner, and came upon a concert in progress. Live music outside- entertaining. We ate at Lebanese Taverna (oh the deliciousness) and had a nice chat, and cupcakes from CakeLove, before heading home.

After all that fun, I figured today would be chore day. I did manage to do four loads of laundry, and I changed the linens and cooked sloppy joes for dinner. I did some dishes, too. Other than that? Not a single thing crossed off the to-do list. Sure, I finished a book and read a comic. I worked a tiny bit on the sweater back, but am still a good 4 cm away from the back neck shaping (so maybe 5 or 6 cm from finishing the darn thing). I wasn't just sitting around watching DVR without being productive, however. I pulled out one of my sewing projects and got to work!

I realized this afternoon that the main reason I haven't been sewing is that I have no space in which to sew. In Bloomington I had a second bedroom to use as a study and sewing room- an entire bedroom that I could cut fabric in, a sewing machine on its own table, and plenty of room to have my ironing board set up full-time. In a studio, this is a bit more difficult. My big PC died a hard death last week, however, so I haven't been using my big desk at all since then. And I hardly ever use my balcony, so I decided it would be worthwhile to block off the doors by sticking the ironing board in front of them. Et voila, a fully functional workspace!

I didn't get super far on the dress, but that's because I got stymied by the directions for the front pocket. After looking up some reviews on Pattern Review, I realized not only that everyone had the same issue, but most people decided not to add the pocket anyway. Who wants a massive pocket right in the middle of the tummy- a pooch in front of the pooch, so to speak. I definitely am not doing enough crunches to feel comfortable with that myself, so hopefully putting the rest of the dress together should be a breeze this week! I'm making a muslin first, out of some fabric my mom gave me years ago- it's a light blue-green. It will probably be a wearable muslin, assuming the sizing works.

To review, this is the pattern I'm working with:


And here's my new and improved sewing space:


Now, to finish the muslin, make the dress, and finally vacuum and tidy the apartment. And do all those other things I decided not to bother with, in order to sew instead. Here's a sneak peek at what my "living room" looks like when I don't actually bother to tidy up on a weekend. On the sofa- two finished sweater fronts, a nearly-done sweater back, a sweater that needs ends woven in. On the table- 3 books finished this weekend, 7 library books to read, one in progress. Measuring tape. Pita chips and marshmallows (it's been a cocoa week). And next to the coffee table is a cross stitch project and the stain-guard I really need to use on the sofa!