Monday, April 16, 2007

Fabric Victory


I refuse to be intimidated by little silhouetted cowboys, even if they *are* riding off into a woven sunset on big scary horses (I hate horses).

So, with that in mind, I set out my pattern on Friday in order to prepare myself for utter domination on Saturday.

I decided, after all the commenting, that I owed it to myself and my impulse buying practices, to put the cowboys to use on some fancy Lounge Pants. And once that was said and done, I'd tackle the promised pillowcases and perhaps another one-off project from the list of fab ideas (recipe card holder for BBQ recipes - hello, fabulous!). Granted, I'd set out to eliminate the Cowboy-riffic fabric all in one fell swoop, but after wrestling with the pattern (Do I cut two on the fold or just cut one on the fold and slice it in half?) I was fresh out of the patience it would have required to deal with a single additional shred of Cowboy.

So, at the end of the day I wouldn't say it was necessarily "utter domination" that prevailed, but I did manage to put together a pair of Wide Leg Lounge Pants without shedding any blood.

What? You don't measure success with bloodshed? Huh.

Thankfully I don't measure success by the proper or expected fit of clothing, because if I did, I'd be a mite disappointed right now.

I'll go out on a limb here and say that a "Medium" as designated by the pattern is, in no way, a "Medium". No, it is more like a "Friggen Huge" because I had to cinch that bad boy around my waist as though I was two weeks of dirty laundry and the pants were my laundry bag. Plus, the interfacing sewn in to reinforce the drawstring holes makes the cinching down look a little bizarre when the placket for the buttonholes doesn't flinch despite my enthusiastic yanking. Good thing I have a close relationship with my fabric turner, because I made one sweet drawstring that will need to hold up it's end of the bargain (ie. The Pants).

I have to admit though, I like the fabric.

I know! Imagine my surprise when, after all that shit-talking, I stood before my finished work and said, out loud mind you, "Wow. Those cowboys are a way better trim than that stupid Thai silk with the impossible-to-match color. Huh. Who'd have guessed?"

Meanwhile Bubba was raising his hand behind me and pointing to his own face. Funny guy.

So, with that bit of mannish insight, I will grant The Wise Bubba with his wish of Cowboy Pillowcases. And then, while he sleeps I'll give away his BBQ recipe in a fabulous Cowboy recipe card holder to one lucky person.

Take that Mr. Smarty The-Cowboys-Rock Pants.

And thank you all for your support through this way-too-trying experience. I'll post photos to the Flickr pool and look for y'alls projects in there, too.

Yes, I said y'all.

7 comments:

  1. Oh, the scary horses...
    I am with you on the laundry..

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  2. those are great, and the scenic look on the bottom are really cute.

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  3. okay, that fabric is no where near as hideous as I was picturing. In fact it's quite cute.

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  4. Your pants turned out great, and I had to laugh at your narrative about cinching it in like a laundry bag and wrestling with the interfacing. Uh huh. Me too! It appears that everything Ms. Butler does is supersized!

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  5. I love those pants! I say giddy-up. and did you say that I had a fabulous idea? Well lucky me! :)

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  6. Beckie- Are you really scared of horses, too or are you just making fun of me for being a fraidy cat? I'm telling you - they are big unpredictable beasts!

    Sharon - bless you for not making fun of these pants I'm finally coming to terms with. I now see this trim as *whimsical* instead of *hideous*.

    Tinkerblue - Sure, sure. Everyone likes the pattern now. Had I not made a big stink about it everyone would have been all, "What the hell was she thinking?" when I posted it to Flickr ;)

    Viv - I started to wonder that, too! Perhaps the recipe card holders are 8 1/2x11!

    Katie Jean - As soon as it's safe to go back in the fabric closet, you'll soon find a great BBQ recipe tucked into some cowboy recipe holders showing up at yer house. Now please send me your address :) finnyknits AT gmail DOT com.

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  7. First off that was so funny! And second thank you for confirming that the pattern runs big! I was measuring looking at the sizes, measuring again & trying to figure out how she figured that those were the sizes. Now I know that it's not just me. And third LOVE the pants, but then I like horses & cowboys so there wasn't much doubt!

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[2013 update: You can't comment as an anonymous person anymore. Too many douchebags were leaving bullshit SPAM comments and my inbox was getting flooded, but if you're here to comment in a real way like a real person, go to it.]

Look at you commenting, that's fun.

So, here's the thing with commenting, unless you have an email address associated with your own profile, your comment will still post, but I won't have an email address with which to reply to you personally.

Sucks, right?

Anyway, to remedy this, I usually come back to my posts and post replies in the comment field with you.

But, if you ever want to email me directly to talk about pumpkins or shoes or what it's like to spend a good part of your day Swiffering - shoot me an email to finnyknitsATgmailDOTcom.

Cheers.