Surgery again. Health update.

Hello my friends. I had posted over on Instagram beforehand but wanted to post on here. This is health stuff so if you don’t like reading about that, feel free to skip it.

Me Directly before surgery

Six days ago I had another surgery. sigh. this one was supposed to be had in 2020, but was canceled due to covid and then pushed off for the craniotomy and radiation. now it's was time to address it. of course, i am a high risk case. nothing seems to go easy for me. I had adenomyosis (basically endometriosis but inside the uterus), I also had some endometriosis and one ovary was stuck to my intestine and the other was twisted like a corkscrew. I love looking at medical pictures of my insides (yes I am weird lol) but a few of these made me turn green!  my uterus was calcifying, yuk, so it was smashing my bladder and colon.  Also I was blessed with a retroverted and reflexed uterus so it was mashed backwards into my intestines and could be the reason my low back hurt so much and sciatica. Needless to say the thing had to go.  The inflammation in my body alone was painful.  I felt so bloated and 6 months pregnant for many years.

I had a robotic hysterectomy Apr 16. the major problem is that in a robotic hysterectomy, you are almost upside-down for about 4 hrs..... painful for a normal person. dangerous for me with my brain tumor still around my carotid artery and pushing on my brainstem..... that's a lot of time that blood and pressure to be on that scary area.

I'm tired of surgeries. the  brain radiation destroyed my pituitary gland, and thus, I have no hormones going on anyway, I'm medically post menopausal… at 45. I am not able to do hormone replacement therapy because estrogen will causes the remaining tumor to grow.

This was my third stomach surgeries. I have never ever felt such excruciating pain. I've had roughly 20 surgeries total in my life.  I can't do any pain meds. not even Tylenol.. even child birth. brain surgery. and a broken ankle were less pain that i felt with this one.  I woke up hard. They couldn’t get me to stay awake. I threw up bile (not cool with a stomach surgery), I couldn't walk on my own and I could barely pee.   All 4 criteria for them to keep me…. did they?  NO.  They sent me hoe in the most unGodly 45 min ride of my life.  I was scream crying by the time I got home and I think I remember telling my husband very loudly that I didn't’ care if I peed right there in front of all the neighbors on the front steps.   Oh and the nurse didn’t put my shoes on and it was a thunderstorm I walked to the front door in, in socks, floppy, cold, mushy socks.  The below picture is me when I finally got to my bed.  the US health system machine is a disgusting money making mess with no compassion  Slice, dice, and move you out so the bed is free to the next.  I’m sure it will cost 500,000 dollars or more for this surgery.

The first few days I was unable to eat or drink anything and I just laid in bed staring at the walls. My mind was too focused on the sheer pain and I could do nothing else.  Reading about the women that went and had a hysterectomy and were just fine, it was a breeze, and back to themselves the next day…. I wanted to punch them, repeatedly (sorry not sorry).

Today is day 6. I know I have a long journey ahead of me to heal with all my issues  (15 weeks doc stated).  The pain is some less, my incisions are itchy, I’m terribly grumpy and uncomfortable. I hate sleeping on my back and I’m just so over it ALL.    Oh, the dissection of my former uterus was all benign, no C word.  YAY! that was nice to hear.  Oh! and 3 days ago was my 3 year crainiversary.  I cannot believe my world was flipped upside down 3 long years ago!   No more surgeries for me.  I’m done Now time to move forward and heal and do the things I love to do, like sew, embroider, and snuggle my pups.

I am stuck on bed rest the first 8 weeks at least  so I am hoping to do some catching up on blog posts and makes I haven’t yet had time to post.

I’m am quite disgruntled about having to miss Me Made May another year (missed in 2021 due to craniotomy)  But I’ll be cheering on the sidelines and collecting notes on things to make from all of you!

Keep moving forward, Kristin  

Pattern Battle: Burda 6741 vs. Simplicity 1021 Pajama Shorts for the man

  Burda 6741 view D

measurements at the time: actual waist: 47 pants waist: 44 hip 46.5

Size sewn: straight 48

Date started and finished: December 24 2023

Fabric: 2 yards required; no fabric width given but cotton is listed as an acceptable fabric. I used this amazing Dwight Schrute, The Office, Cotton Woven that I purchased 04/30/2023 from Marshall Dry Goods.  it is labeled “45" CAMELOT FABRICS OFFICE SCHRUTE BUSINESS” 100% Cotton, SKU: 96090109-01, 2 Yards, $4.99/yard. Troy is an enormous Office Fan so he loved the fabric print.

A 5/8-inch Seam Allowance is hidden in the very beginning of the instructions and no elastic measurement is given

There is no cut diagram, so do I cut one or two of the waistband?? It says cut one on fold on a tiny part of the pattern piece - no fold arrows, no fold lines. After a bit of head scratching, I figured it out -you fold it in half like a hot dog, the long way. Then cut it on the fold - this tiny little long piece, and then open it with fold in the middle of the piece - not on an end like normal patterns. If you were to do it this way, Burda, why not just have the pattern piece flat with no fold! It is really odd.

The waistband ends up being 25 inches long for the largest size, but the largest waist is 45.75 inches? There is no “cut 2” or anything. I used my better judgement and cut 2.

I used 31 inches of no roll elastic 3/4 inch wide. Initially I used 44 inches of elastic that a previous pattern suggested, and worked, but the man changed his mind during try-on and preferred them really tight - because he has no rear to hold up his pants.

The hems are a narrow 1/4 inch on the legs, gross. So, add 1/4-inch next time to do at least ½, though I would prefer an inch hem.

Buttonholes: step #19 says “put in buttonholes” that's it, no further instruction where or how, apparently to insert cording. But that is not shown on the diagram or covered in any of the instructions.

step 12 to 13 - No instructions to under stitch the pocket seams to the pocket side, remember to do this next time. Also, clean up with serging on the straight edge of pockets before attaching or you will regret it later.

I thought instructions in the Burda magazine were terrible, you would think it would be a little bit better in the paper envelope, but the instructions were just terrible. It's easy enough to sew shorts, but if I was a beginner, I would need more instruction.

 

The man's thoughts: he prefers knits. He says cotton is scratchy and he's not really fond of it. His favorite shorts are the Greenstyle Hamptons that I made a while back in 2018; he wears them nonstop. Those would be his perfect pattern. He also doesn’t like that these don't have a fly and he wishes there was a fly. However, they fit well, and the length is good, and the crotch is nice and snug, not droopy.

Simplicity 1021 View C

measurements at the time: actual waist: 47 pants waist: 44 hip 46.5

Size sewn: straight 48

Date started and finished: 01/20/24

The pattern gives no waist measurement only a hip measurement. I sized up to extra-large because the pattern gave me the measurement of 47 - 49 inch hip for XL and 43 - 45 inch hip for L

HOWEVER the actual pattern piece says extra-large 46 - 48 inches for hip and it lists a finished measurement of 53 inches on the hip

Also, no fabric requirement was listed for just the shorts.

 

Pieces 7,8,9,10 and 11 are for the shorts All of the pattern pieces were on one sheet except piece #11, WHY? Piece #11 is the elastic length guide, why is it not on the sheet with every other pattern piece I don't know, however, for extra-large it is 1” x 41” for pattern piece #11, the elastic guide. Made absolutely no sense to unfold a huge flimsy pattern sheet for just that measurement.

I started with two yards, and I had 11 inches leftover, so I would say 2 yards are needed for the shorts. Thanks, Simplicity, for not saying how many yards I needed for just the shorts.

Fabric: 45" Camelot Fabrics Looney Tunes That's All Folks, purchased from Marshall Dry Goods on 06/27/23, 2 yards for $4.99/yard.

Shading in the instructions drove me crazy because it's wrong!! It's opposite - right side up was shaded and wrong side up was white, when it should be the other way around - so I was getting confused and I kept looking at the beginning and the beginning of the instructions show, like every pattern, RSU white and WSU is shaded.

There is no instruction to have you stabilize the fly where the snaps or buttonholes go. At step 5-6, in the future, stabilize at the fly where the buttonholes or snaps go.

The Pattern does have a nice 1-inch hem on the legs.

Overall, these instructions were better than the Burda instructions - besides the shading mess up. These also have a real fly, which is nice, however I knew right away that they weren't going to be a favorite for my husband for the exact reasons he lists below.

 

The man's thoughts: he doesn't like scratchy cotton; he likes knits better as above. These pajama shorts also have a very droopy crotch, yet very short legs and are very poofy in the legs, too. He was reminded of his grandpa's old boxer shorts for this pattern. He does not like it. He does not want me to make it ever again. He prefers his shorts to reach his knees. He grew up in the 90s and early 2000s, so he likes things long. He does not like the length of these short shorts.

Side by Side Comparison:

There you have it, the winner is Burda 6741 even though the instructions are terrible, there's no real fly, and they aren’t knit. (it's easy enough to change it to a real fly, but the instructions are still terrible) Since my husband prefers knit fabric, I won't be making either of these again. Unfortunately, I had other flannel and cotton fabrics for him in my stash…… I guess I get to find other uses for them.

Happy Sewing!

Kristin

Dress Yes and Dress No

Pattern: Ellie & Mac – I love the 90s Dress Measurements at the time: high bust 38 1/2 bust 42 waist 37 hip 48 ½ Size sewn: shoulders L, XL bust, XXL waist and hips Alterations: I added one inch to the skirt length for my height because this is drafted for a 5 foot five woman and I'm 5’7” .   I did my normal half inch forward shoulder adjustment  I added another half inch so I could have a one inch hem. I don't like 1/2 an inch hem (as the pattern calls for) because it usually flips up, I like a beefy 1 inch hem. So in total I added 1.5” to length of skirt portion.  I added 1/2 inch to each side of the sleeves at the hem and then blended to the armpit - they were way too small when I flat measured them so the total added to each sleeve hem was an inch in width.  That way I could get 14 1/4 inches of room after sewing and seam allowance. I have big biceps.  I did keep the 1/2 inch hem on the sleeves - though I would prefer to have at least 3/4 inch hem there. Date sewn:  May 21, 2023 Fabric:  Double Brushed Navy & Pink Floral Poly Spandex purchased in 2017 from Knitpop for $8.50/yard.  I used 2 yards so $17 total. Instructions: I found that there was no pocket line on the back only on the front pieces but you start sewing them on to the back piece so make sure to transfer the pocket lines to the back pieces.

The back skirt piece is shorter than the front by two and 3/4 inch and wider by two inches this really confused me until I wore the dress and realized it really helped even things out over my rear end.

I didn't cut the front or back bodices on the fold. I traced it to be one open piece and not on the fold and then just cut 2 - laid out flat like a normal proper pattern piece.  You all know my pet peeve is cut 2 on fold - I can't stand that.

I also cut the neck band 1 1/2 inch by 20 1/2 inch – I think it was a 1” width, I like a beefier neckband.

Thoughts: Ok, I know it sounds like I did a lot of altering and things for this dress, but I really love this dress.  A first I wasn't sure if I would like it, but when I wear it I feel like a teenager all over again.  It has the best pockets too!  I also thought that at first when I saw it, that I would look like I was wearing a tent.  But it's really cute and really fun and it's twirly and flowy and I'm probably going to make more. I really love it, it's a great dress. I got the pattern on their weekly $2 sale patterns. It was cheap and I figured why not and now I love it.  So that's the second pattern that I've gotten and made from Ellie and Mac that I absolutely love.  The first pattern was the curved hem tank and you know I've made a ton of those and that's a free pattern. Now I look every Tuesday at which patterns they have on sale for $2 and I'm scooping them up because I really love how the Ellie & Mac patterns are laid out and I love how they look on me.  If you haven't given them a shot yet you might want to try the free curved hem tank to get an idea of how they work but they're great in my opinion. Pattern: Snapdragon Studios – Summer Jazz Dress Measurements at the time: bust 42 high bust 39 waist 37 to 39 hip 49 Size sewn: L bust, XL waist and hips Alterations: Alterations I did French seams on the center front seam and on the shoulders.  There is no elastic length for inside the casing - no idea what length to use, I winged it. Date started: date started June 8, 2023     Date finished: date finished June 10th 2023 Fabric:  In March of 2018 I got this in the Fabricmart Precut sale. So for $12 I got the pattern and 5 Yards of Muted Navy/Bright Blue/Pink 100% Polyester Abstract Print Peachskin Blouse Weight Woven 60W fabric. I still have 2 yards left. so this dress took 3 yards.  so this dress was only about $7 of fabric plus I got the pattern with it. Instructions: the instructions are really weird, they're super wordy and convoluted.  The neck binding is a very weird way to do this as well and so not all of the neck binding gets caught because of how they say to sew it. Also, with this weird neck binding, when I wear the dress it flips to the front and you can see the bad neck binding. I might have to hand stitch this somehow to the inside so it doesn't flip forward, but I don't know how without showing stitches on the front. Not a fan of the neck binding. Thoughts: Why is there a center front seam? Unnecessary center front seams are gross to me. There's no reason to have a center front seam on this. The fabric was completely horrible to work with.  It is some weird slippery rayon crap and it's just horrible, I don't like it. I bet it would snag in a heartbeat because it was unraveling as I was trying to work with it. I should have starched it to make it stiff and easier to work with like I blogged about ages ago with how to work with slippery fabric. (I should have taken my own advice!)

On the front of the dress where you tack down the elastic, under the bust, is a sloppy way to do it and it shows on the front and it's just right there in front. Everybody can see where you've tacked it down.

Overall I did not enjoy making this dress. I wrote on my notes “Give up, terrible.”  I didn't enjoy the fabric. I didn't’ enjoy the instructions.  However, when I wear it - I think it looks cute, so I don't know. I also see that you can make it in a jersey as well, even though I used a woven. So it might be cute in a jersey but I still don't like how you do the front elastic tack down at the center front waist. I'm going to have to think about how to make that look better.  This dress is not my favorite.  But I will let it hang in the closet for awhile and see if it grows on me.

Happy Sewing! Kristin