The Year of Sewing and Knitting Dangerously

I'm Here....Just Drowning at the moment...

Hey you!  Yeah, you guys who come and check in once in awhile.  Thanks for that.  I'm in the middle of the spring rush.  Just drowning under weddings and alterations this year.  One last minute addition of a wedding dress and bridesmaid alterations (their dresses, not them) and I have officially ended up over my head for the next couple of weeks.  I'll try and take some pictures and post occasionally, but for the next few weeks things will be intermittent at best.  On the plus side, I'm getting to do some really fun things that will make for interesting posting later, when I can breathe again. 

Hope it's spring where you are.

It might rear it's head here.

Sit in the sun for me.

You thought I was gone...

Hah!  Admit it!  You thought I was gone again.  But no!  Just drowning in work and life.  Go figure.  I don't have any pictures of work or life today - just a rant.  And Canada Post is the culprit.

My family lives across the street from the university in our town.  Literally across the street.  I can see the residence from my front window.  This is apparently a complicated thing for Canada Post to grasp.  For the second time in three months, a package has been lost because a postal person is unable to read an address.  At Christmas, my mom sent a Christmas present in the last week before Christmas, and it was sent to the University postal centre, delivered to three different people and returned to the postal centre each time, before someone actually looked at the address on the package  and delivered it to the correct address.  So it appears that we are experiencing the same technical difficulties this time around.  An expedited parcel left Montreal last Wednesday and has been in Calgary since Monday.  It has been delivered to someone, signed for, and is now "out for delivery" again.  Insanity.  How hard can it be to read an address and deliver it to said address?  Is it too much to ask?  Am I sounding a little frustrated?  Well I am.  The addresses in Calgary are pretty straightforward.  Street numbers correlate with avenue numbers to make things pretty easy to find.  But oh well.  I'm not going to fuss much more, other than to utter an AAARRRGGGHHH of frustration.  Yeesh.

What week is it?

  So apparently Monday has become THE DAY.  Or at least it is this week.  Or last week.  It won't be next week.  Just to keep you on your toes.  Today is all about the knitting.  I did do some sewing last week, but the knitting achievements are monumental.  One project has been wallowing around this place (and the old place) since the last Winter Olympics.  The other is newer (just this winter) but it was made using problem wool.  Wool that I love the colours of, the feel of and everything about it, but that just wasn't meant to be a garment. 

Project: LIndsay's Cardigan

Pattern:Ribbed Diamonds Cardigan by Kathy Zimmerman

Yarn:  Alpaca from Saskatchewan.

What is important about this sweater, is that it is finished.  It was started during the last Winter Olympics.  Given that we are coming up on a new set, that makes it three years ago.  It is a lousy picture, given the grey winter light that is showing up today, but you'll have to take my word for it's loveliness.  And its' completion (except for buttons - always with the buttons).  Hah.  Many in my house (including my husband) doubted that this would ever be completed.  But they are now wrong.  I like it when others are wrong.  Go figure.

 Project: Winter Star blanket

Pattern:Radiating Star Blanket by Alexis Layton.

Yarn: Mystery Lopi from the Mill ends Bin at Wal-Mart a couple of years ago. 

So, while looking up the link for said pattern, I just realized that I didn't follow the directions.  The blanket that is pictured there is in the spirit of the blanket that I made, but it doesn't look like this one.  I like mine though.  I used the sawtooth border that Elizabeth Zimmerman used on one of the Pi shawls.  I am a sucker for a knitted-on border, and a sawtooth one makes it extra sweet.  The colours of the yarn (which tried to become a sweater no less than three times and had to be ripped out for a variety of reasons) are not true in the above picture, but they are true in the picture below:

  Same room, two minutes later.  Who woulda' thunk it?  Lighting  is a mystery.  Anyway, I love the blanket.  It is a lovely conclusion for yarn that was becoming cursed.  Not that I believe in that kind of thing. 

So that's the knitting installment for this week.  There will be sewing later in the week, then more sewing next week.  Followed by the week after and so on, and so on.  At the moment, it's all good.  And that's all I can ask for.  See ya soon.

Week 8 - I can't count, and an admission of defeat...

This is late this week.  In fact, it's now next week.  But that's okay.  I spent the weekend trying to madly finish something, anything, but then had to fess up that this is one of those weeks where I take a bye, since I am three or four weeks ahead in my list, so far.  I am almost finished Lindsay's Cardigan - been on the needles for three years.  And I am also almost finished a lap blanket that I started this winter.  But neither one is actually finished.  So next week will be a big one. 

I had bad sewing karma this week.  It all started with shortening the sleeves on a t-shirt for a client - snowballed out of control, as coverstitching sometimes does, ending with having to replace said client's shirt, having put rows of little holes in the fabric, since I had to redo it so many times.  Much swearing ensued, and, well... that was the end of sewing for this week.  It was also my husband's birthday on Thursday, so days were lost to that and the almost finishing of his cardigan for the B'day.

I also came to an important conclusion last weekend.  While this whole project is supposed to be about accepting myself at the size that I am, I am actually perilously close to being overweight (like 0.8 pounds away from that particular designation).  So I need to get a little smaller to become a little healthier.  I carry my weight around my middle, so if I gain a few pounds, my pants won't do up.  I sort of thought that I was doing okay, that the number on the scale (which was creeping up) was reflecting my massive muscle gain (huh) over the last two months of working out again.  Until I realized that I have been wearing the same two pairs of jeans with spandex in them for the last little while.  And that my other pants wouldn't even do up.  Time to do something about it.  So off to Weight Watchers I go again.  Actually eating vegetables.  Who woulda thunk it? 

So no pictures this week, just a confession, some resolve and a promise of more fun in the future. 

Week 6 - A two-fer and the lake, the lake, my kingdom for the lake...

We've been to the lake.  Not just any lake.  The lake that makes me happy and calm and the very best version of myself.  If we could figure out a way to live there I would be gone in a flash.  Seriously.  Even in the winter when it's -20, I'm a happy clam.  Or I suppose I should be a happy fish stuck under some ice while those annoying folk up above dangle treats that I shouldn't eat right in front of me.   

That's the boy and I getting back from some skiing on the lake - you can see the ice fishing huts over my right shoulder.  It was only -10, so by the time we had been skiing awhile we were both overheated.  Look at all that knitwear at work!  That's my Turn-A-Square hat and my Birthday Cowl.  And my Squirrelly mittens are in my pockets.  Excellent.  A lovely time was had by all, except for moments where my daughter was concerned, but that's par for the course. 

So what did I do in the last couple of weeks?  Where shall we start?  How about before we left?  When we are at the lake in the winter, there is usually a day or two where getting dressed seems highly inconvenient.  A pajama day.  We actually do these at home when things get too busy and everyone is going in different directions all the time.  Nobody is allowed to get dressed.  Usually I just hang out in flannel pants and a sweatshirt, but I wanted something a little more feminine this time.  Something that would highlight the good parts and gloss over the not-so-good parts.  Enter New Look 6572.

 

Project: Pajamas for the lake - and when we get back. 

Pattern:New Look 6572

Fabric: Pinstriped Grey flannel for the tunic and pants and purple wicking knit for the camisole.

So this seemed to fit the bill.  Three pieces that work for this kinda thing.

First there are the pants, which are really wide at the bottom.  Really wide.  And they are much more attractive on a body than they are in that picture.  I am not nearly that wide, and neither are they.  I changed the drawstring waist to a straight elastic one, since I tend to do up the drawstring, then never undo it anyway (have I mentioned that I have no ass, so that is actually possible?). Other than their wideness, they are standard elastic waist pants.  

Then we move on to the tops.  First, the camisole:

 This is view b from the pattern.  And it's pretty.  I don't usually go in for pretty, but this is pretty.  I didn't follow the directions, and got into my usual snafu.  You are supposed to sew the bodice together, then sew the skirt together, then attach the two (the wrap is a mock wrap), using that seam allowance for a casing for the elastic.  That's what I did for the grey shirt (which I actually made first).  But I was listening to a good cd, and thinking about my girl (chaos in a ten-year-old) and before I knew it, I had put it together like it was an actual wrap top.  Only a problem when you try to insert the elastic.  I had already decided that I didn't want the elastic in the back seam, since it was hanging nicely over my asslessness.  So I inserted elastic through the whole casing, tacked it at the beginning, cinched up what seemed like enough for the first wrap side, tacked it down at the side seam, left the elastic in the back un-cinched, then tacked the other side seam and cinched up the other front.  Then, since I didn't want to be bothering with buttons or anything, I tacked the two sides of the wrap down.  So I ended up with something that looked like the picture by going around the back and coming in the side door.  Go figure.  Here's the back.

 

Looking at this reminds me that I had to take 2" out of the back of both tops the whole way down.  Apparently I didn't really care about lining up that seam where I couldn't see it. 

Then we have the grey top:

  Since this was to be the outside layer, I sewed the wrap shut so as not to have any non-g-rated moments while lounging.  Other than that, I followed the directions that came with the pattern.  And they worked.  Go figure.

While we were at the lake, I started recovering the furniture that is there.  My mom bought this wonderful rattan furniture when they built the house a few years ago, but the upholstery on the cushions was very dark.  The whole room is brown.  So there has been talk and debate for the last year or so about what to recover them with so the place will look less like a hotel - everything lovely but very neutral.  The dithering was making me a little crazy, so before we left I went and bought a mountain of fabric in bright colours without asking anyone's opinion, thinking that it would be the perfect solution to everyone's problem.  The decision would have been made and it would be done without any fighting or discontent. (let me add here that my parents both have really good taste but that they occupy opposite ends of the colour spectrum.  My dad likes bright clear colours, and my mom likes soft neutrals a la Martha Stewart.  And they both care about how the place looks, so the battles have been legendary.)  Well, we got there and I covered one cushion with one of the fabrics that I was most confident about, and it looked like crap.  The two others looked quite good, so I covered one chair in one, one chair in the other, then left the couch and the ottoman with a note on it, saying that a decision would be good.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures before we left.  So you'll just have to trust me.

One of the nice things about the trip to the lake in the winter, is that it takes 8 hours and my husband drives.  So I can finish things of a knitterly nature:

 

Project:  Socks for the Girl

Yarn: I can't remember.  I started these for myself during the Superbowl (need long bouts of stockinette during such a stressful time) but somewhere along the way they ended up being for Kyra.  They are longer than I make for myself because she is a fan of the kneesock.  So they got finished during the drive to the lake.  Along with a hat, that got started and finished.

 

This is supposed to be an interim hat for the boy.  I asked him a couple of weeks ago if he would like me to make him a hat and he responded by requesting the most complicated hat known to mankind.  So this hat was supposed to keep his noggin warm in the meantime.  But it's too small.  Even though I had him try it on repeatedly and everytime he said it was good, perfect, etc.  Three days later he admitted that yes, it was indeed too small.  So another interim hat is in order.  Either that or he just continues to wear the red toque that you saw at the top of the post. We'll see. I did some other knitting while I was there, but (surprise) no more finishing.  I was  looking around when we got back and realizing that I have an alarming number of projects that have been started this winter only to be abandoned when they require any attention.  Apparently I should have started a blanket back in the fall that required gigantic swaths of garter stitch, since that seems to be all I am capable of.  Ah well.  Time to focus on one project at a time again for awhile and get some of these unfinished things off my plate. 

Find some sun somewhere, cause spring is coming.

Gone...to the lake but not fishin'...

I do have items to post this week, but I am in a flurry of packing before we head off to the lake until Feb. 18th.  More later, when we return...

Week 5: A little self-analysis...

When I started all this a month ago, it was with a view to reducing the stashes of both fabric and yarn that have accumulated over the last ten years or so.  Once I moved into the new sewing room and realized that, while I had lots of room for storage, I didn't even make a dent in the bins ( I kid you not) of fabric and yarn that are stored in the shed ( and inventoried, no less).  A noble aim.  And the fact that it would reign in the spending seemed like a good idea as well.  The part that didn't occur to me until later is that it would force me to really look at myself.  I'm a little slow sometimes. 

I used to sew for myself a great deal, back in the days of toddlers who napped reliably.  I made clothes that fit me well and made me happy.  I haven't done much in the last couple of years though.  I gained the ten pounds that I was always going to lose, then lost it courtesy of a couple of dieting binges (yes, it is possible to binge on dieting), only to gain it back again.  The classic yo-yo dieter.  So spending the amount of time that sewing requires on making something that wasn't going to fit me in a month when I lost the weight seemed silly.  Only I never focused on losing the weight longer than a couple of days.  So I bought all the fabric and yarn, made jokes about my theoretical wardrobe, then went shopping to buy some clothing that fit.  When you are in a store you can blame the fact that something doesn't fit on the sizing of the store, not on your own shape.  When you are standing in your bra and underwear with a tape measure in your hand, there isn't anything to hide behind.  Literally.  I'm not huge, by any means.  But I am larger than the picture in my head.  The picture in my head is from before my baby days (my babies are now in junior high) and needs some updating.  But I don't want to update it.  I want to be it again.  But mindfully now.  There are some things that I know about myself.  I know that alcohol isn't good for me.  But I love a drink on a Friday night.  The problem is that it isn't usually one drink.  It's usually half a bottle of wine on Friday, and half of another on Saturday.  I know that my body is much happier when I don't eat sugar.  But ...you see.  It's the "but"s that are getting in the way of my butt.  So here's what I realized.  I am happier (Hah!) when I am exercising regularly (no great mystery there - endorphins anyone?) and I don't feel the need to eat/drink so much.  The idea for now is to sew for myself the way that I am today, while maintaining some sense of happiness as well.  Because the number on that tape measure, while it isn't a measure of how good a person I am, does affect me.  So there.

This week I made two projects, both of which are atrociously photographed, but are symbolic of where my head is. 

Project: Shirt of My Heart.

Pattern: Christine Jonson 723 Straight Shirt

Fabric: Sweatshirting fabric with a boucle knit face, as well as some woven cotton.

I started this shirt as a companion piece to a dress that was to be made as well, but this one ended up with a life all it's own. The fabric is fairly heavy, and the pattern calls for self-facings and a double-layer collar.  That all would have been too bulky, so I used a woven cotton as a separate facing and the undercollar.  That gave everything a little more stability as well.  I grabbed a piece Jamaican print fabric that came from my Aunt Diana's house.  And realized halfway through the construction of all of this that I was making something that looked like it had come out of my Aunt's or my Grandmother's closet.  They are big on the overshirt. So the facing fabric came from Diana's and the buttons are all different vintage buttons from my button box, which has recently been enriched by other relatives.  In light of my struggles with myself, this one feels just right.  Like I am where I am supposed to be.  

 Project: Pants of...well..my pants.

Pattern:BWOF 11-2008-105b

This is the first pair of pants that I have made for myself in a couple of years, and they are okay.  They have reminded me why I love and hate making pants for myself.  Pants are fantastic when they actually fit, but they aren't something that you can just whip up in a couple of hours unless you have fitted them well already.  So these ones are pretty good.  They don't look like the picture in the magazine at all, but then I also don't look like the picture at all.  They fit well at the waist, and they are long enough (with a 34" inseam, that can be a challenge).  They have a nice detail down the side seam - a strip of the corduroy on the bias.

 See?  Nicely wrinkled pants with a detail down each side.  This picture also highlights my main fitting challenge.  See the upper leg? On the front, my quad muscle is big and strong, so I always need more fabric in the front, but my upper leg in the back scoops in substantially under my rather flat butt, leaving a lot of fabric hanging out in the back.  The picture below says it all.

 

Handfulls of fabric under my bum.  Combine that  with the propensity for my pants to drift down from the waist over the course of the day, and I look like I'm wearing diapers by 5:00.  So that's the goal for the next pair.  Making something that fits my legs reasonably well. 

There has been no completion of any knitting this week.  In fact, I have been in a knitting funk (not to be confused with any funky knitting).  I have an array of projects on the go - more than usual and that's saying something.  But I seem to be having a hard time settling down to anything.  We are heading to the lake later this week, which means 8 hours in the car each way.  Some knitting must get done.  Or Lindsay and I will fight all the way.  The knitting on the car trips keeps my head down and keeps me from hammering my foot on the non-existent brake on my side of the car when Lindsay pulls out to pass someone.  He's an excellent driver, he just has a better idea of when he can pass someone than I do.  I tend to wait until there is no-one for miles before I pass (if he was driving behind me, I would be making him crazy), so there is lots of deep breathing for me when he is driving on the highway.  The knitting keeps both of us calm.  I just don't look. 

I will post again before we go.  Have a good couple of days.

Week 4 - A sweater that isn't knitted...

This has been a good week.  I have had a bit of a sea change in my head which is tiny but huge all at once.  It has made things easier and less of a struggle.  There is enough struggle in my life.  Eliminating one is always a good thing.  So what is it?  Well, you'll have to wait a couple of weeks.  It still feels too new to go on talking about.  Suffice it to say that a joy-full life is always a good thing. On to sewing...

There is only one project to report this week, but it will be compensated for next week, since I almost finished a pair of pants, but not quite.  And I'm almost finished a sweater full of owls, but not quite.  And I have almost ...well...you get the picture.  It's a week full of middles.  Hopefully not all of them are squishy. 

Pattern:Jalie 2692

Fabric: Navy mystery sweaterknit from the stash.  It has a bit of texture, and I think it will wear well. 

This is another great top pattern from Jalie.  The shawl collar is constructed in an entirely cunning fashion that requires faith and the precise following of directions.  I love things like that.  I generally don't follow directions terribly well, but in this case it's necessary, if only for one step.  The rest of it is pretty straightforward.  I had a bit of rippling in the hems, but that's okay  (when I am wearing it, and my hips are stretching it out more, there is much less than there seems to be in this picture).  This one is really wearable and I can see a couple of others in my near future.   

So that's it for this week.  Other than my dressform looking like she needs to see the chiropractor (what is going on with that shoulder?), things are shaping up as we head into February. 

Next week, things will be crazy.  In a good way.

Week 3 : Another hat, but also a t-shirt...

And did I mention the navel-gazing....

Hello again.  I was reading an interview with Iman this morning and she stated the following:

"...,no woman really needs another dress, as we all have enough clothes.  We are all looking for things that uplift us,"

So very, very true.  I struggle with the whole clothing business (literally and figuratively).  On the one hand, it's a lot of money and energy that could be spent doing much better things.  But what about the perfect pair of pants?  The ones that you put on and you know feel good.  They hit you in all the right places and you don't have to think about what you are wearing again until you get undressed at the end of the day.  When you are wearing them, your mind is free to do all the good things it needs to because you are comfortable and know you look good.  Because clothing isn't just clothing.  Clothes hold memories.  Why else would we hold onto a t-shirt that is threadbare and stained?  Because it reminds us of all the things that happened when we were wearing said shirt, and the person that we were when that shirt was part of our regular rotation. 

How does all this relate to this week in my particular journey (man, I hate that use of that word, but it's damn appropriate) this winter?  Well, in two ways:

Project: Turn A Square Hat by Jared Flood

Yarn: Unknown origin stash yarn - two partial balls that are still lurking.

This was a lovely quick knit that was whipped up on Thursday night because I got a haircut and my ears were cold.  It was a big haircut (an hour and fifteen minutes worth of haircut) and I felt a knit was a worthy tribute.  So why all the fuss and bother about a haircut?  Because, for me, the hair is a signpost of where I am.  I can wear long hair or short hair fairly well.  I have alternated between the two for most of my adult life, rarely settling into a style for terribly long.  And part of it is because I haven't been setlled in who I am for terribly long.  My husband likes my hair long, but I always end up wearing it in a ponytail for most of the time, which feels like a cop-out.  So the short hair shows up when I am feeling like I need to develop myself in relation to myself, not those around me.  So, without further ado:

 Short hair.  Now there's a big surprise after all that build up.  Feels good.  Feels right.  Feels like a cheesy song from 1978...

On to more interesting things (relatively speaking of course).

A sewing project, a sewing project.  I actually made myself something and it turned out really well.  Huh.  Go figure.

Project: Basic t-shirt that actually fits.  Crazy...

Pattern:Jalie 2805

Fabric: Onion skin (weird name) - 100% polyester from stash

Love, love, love this.  Mostly because it actually fits reasonably well straight out of the envelope.  I think the next one I make will be a size smaller in the shoulders, although this one seems to be stretching a bit as I wear it, so it may be a fabric issue, not a wearing issue.  But here's the thing.  I feel good in this top.  I don't feel like I need to suck in my belly or push out my chest or anything else.  It just fits.  And that's the point of all this, isn't it?  So my first tentative step into a better me?  Was a good one.  Let's hope next week goes as well.

Week 2: The Week that Usually Gets In My Way

Subtitle:  How I usually get in my own way by Week 2 of anything...

So here we are at Week 2.  Here's something you should know about me.  I'm a great starter.  I love the beginning of a project.  Purchasing the fabric or yarn and conjuring up what it's going to become is my favorite part.  The unblemished beginning holds such promise for myself and what I'm making.  By the time I finish whichever project I am starting, I will be six feet tall and willowy (never mind that I'm 5'8" and at 38, I think that may be as tall as I'm getting.  And the willowy part?  Not unless something is removed surgically - like my affinity for all things sugary.  But I digress.)  So I begin.  And start to put things together.  I take joy in the sewing of a lovely seam, or the perfectly aligned topstitching, or the slightly misaligned topstitching that means that a person made this, not a machine.  Then I try it on.  And I am not suddenly willowy.  Which I knew that I wasn't.  But being faced with it again is discouraging.  So I don't fix things, I just wad them up and move onto something else.  So finishing becomes a problem.  But it isn't really the finishing, it is the acknowledgement that this body of mine, which can and does do amazing things on a daily basis, doesn't actually look like I think it does in my head.  So my head needs a shake.  Which is part of what I'm trying to do this winter - give my head a shake and appreciate the rest of me. 

So what is the significance of Week 2?  This was the week that I was supposed to start sewing for myself, having made a hat last week.  And I spent all week getting in my own way so that I didn't have to get down to the sewing room and tidy up and get started sewing again.  I made up a whole bunch of excuses, the upshot of which is that I didn't sew anything for myself this week.  I did do some sewing, and a lot of knitting, but I didn't sew anything for me.  While I am technically within the boundaries of the challenge I set myself, I am not moving forward.  So that is what the goal will be for this week.  Moving forward.

What did I do this week while I was avoiding dealing with my self?  A great deal actually.  Let's have a look.

Project: Shawl for a Friend

Pattern :Garnstudio 94-32

Yarn: 2.5 skeins of Misti Pima Cotton and Silk in a lovely periwinkle color that refuses to be photographed in our winter light.

 My friend called me to tell me that her sister-in-law, whom I don't know but feel that I do, has to have a mastectomy.  She wanted to rush to her sister-in-law's side and help her deal with things (as we all do in times of crisis for those we love) but circumstances meant that she couldn't.  So she put together a box of treats to help get through the next few weeks (one of my favorite things to do, by the way) and I offered to make a shawl.  We decided on the yarn choice over the phone, a happy colour and very soft being the main prerequisites, and I cast on Thursday night, and cast off late Sunday.  In between times I got to watch a lot of Bravo on Sunday, when I was knitting the border and thinking that there was no way that I was going to make this deadline.  But I did make it, and it went off in the mail on Tuesday.  This particular pattern is started from the bottom of the triangle and worked to the top, but I don't like  doing that, so I didn't.  I started at the top center and worked out from there, doing the standard YO increase down the center back and at the edges.  That meant that I would be able to knit the border onto the live stitches along the outside edge, instead of having to sew it on after the fact, which they direct you to do in the pattern.  This made the whole thing much less inclined to swearing when I cast off the last stitch.  Always a good thing, but especially at 11:00 on a Sunday night.  

As for sewing, this weekend my boy went off to Scout camp to spend his days cross-country skiing and generally being a boy in the company of other boys.  One of the only crimps in this plan is that the temperature here is very warm, so all the snow is melting.  Too warm for ski pants (which he won't wear anyway) and too wet for jeans (his leg covering of choice in all but the most dire circumstances).  So I proposed a Pant System.  A couple of pairs of fleece pants and a pair of water-resistant overpants that can be put on when skiing.  Most kids would just wear snow pants, but this man-child of mine has never liked them as they are very bulky and usually too warm (winter vacations in Saskatchewan are the only exception we have run across in the last few years. -20 will do that to you).  So here they are: 

Project: Man-Child Snow Pants

Pattern: Burda WOF Kids Fashion E 600 Pattern 618

Fabrics: Grey weatherproof fabric for outer layer, Navy and black polar fleece for the inner layers.

I chose this pattern because of the interesting side seams.  They wrap around towards the front, making things look a little more interesting than your average elastic-waist pant.  The man-child is strangely shaped right now, having a 30" waist and some killer ab muscles, but a 27" chest, and only a 37" outseam.  So finding pants that he doesn't swim in is an interesting trick.   I cut out a 158 cm basic pattern, eliminating all the jean-style details except the back yoke (he has a nicely rounded bum, but don't tell him I said so).  Then I cut them out of the outer fabric using 0.5" seam allowances and the fleece using 0.25" seam allowances.  I then sewed everything up using 0.25" seams, giving the outer layer a little more room than the fleece.  I made the waistband on the fleece pants a little shorter than the the outer layer, so that the outer layer would come up overtop of the inner layer, cutting down on snow penetration.  Elastic in the hemline of one set of pants, and then they all were done.  Below are some pictures of the details of all, and you can click to embiggen if you are interested.       

So that is what has happened this week.  Hopefully next week will be more in line with what I started this whole project out to be.