Crafting modest and feminine clothes...

I haven't bought myself clothes in a really long time. I was pregnant last year, so I did buy some maternity clothes, but everything I wore was either from my pregnancy with Henry or secondhand from the Goodwill. A few friends also lent me maternity clothes. So I haven't bought "regular" clothes in a while.

When I did do a little shopping right before I returned to work following my maternity leave, I was disappointed. Everything was so expensive, and it's not as if they were made out of quality materials. Things just cost more now, even polyester. :) I also had a hard time finding things that I liked 100% in terms of the style. I tend to prefer longer tunic style tops (I think they're more flattering on me), and we've had the skirt discussion before. Modesty issue aside, I just don't look good in knee length or above skirts. I do tend to find pants pretty easily, although the fact that mens' pants are made with waist and length measurements and womens' aren't is completely ridiculous to me. But anyway, a lot of the tops were longer but too low cut, or had a nice neckline but cut funny on the sides, etc.

So, this fall I finally finished up a sweater that I'd been knitting for quite a while. It hadn't taken me all *that* long I suppose, I had just put it aside for a long time. It's the sweater I'm wearing in the photo above. I really liked the neckline on it, and the waist taper, just a very feminine design, to me. And it's made from a wool/bamboo blend yarn. Very warm. It actually could use to be a hair smaller, but overall it fits pretty well and looks nice, especially for a first sweater.

So I've been thinking: maybe I'll start making myself more clothes. Granted, this would be a much faster process if I could actually *sew* clothing, but that's not happening right now, so knitting it is. It'll take me quite a while to amass any kind of wardrobe enhancement, but we'll get there.

I'm going to be making this sweater with a cute snowflake motif at the waist, and this one as well, I think in a deep purple that reminds me of Advent. All out of real wool or alpaca blends. And I can tweak them how I want too, make them longer, slimmer, etc. We'll see how it goes, and it may be 2 years before they're actually done, but I will persevere. :) I'm crocheting a pretty lacy cardigan-like item right now, in recycled cotton. (Mike: "You wear something under that, right?" "Um, YES, Honey." ":) ).

Relatedly, the cost of wool is on the rise, and prices are reflecting it. Despite Mike's alarm at glimpsing my yarn stash last night (it's not THAT large, just 2 plastic bins full :) ) I may buy the wool for these 2 sweaters before the upcoming price increase at Knit Picks. Why pay more later, right? I always like to have enough yarn and books on hand that if we're quarantined due to a nuclear disaster for a year or more, I won't be bored. I mean, it doesn't hurt just to be sure, right?

:)

New maternity pants and weekend plans

Yesterday, I did in fact stop by another Goodwill. And for a mere $12, I bought 3 pairs of perfect fitting maternity pants. *beams* A pair of khaki cords, and 2 pairs of black work pants. I couldn't be more thrilled.

Speaking of clothing, working on a university campus, I see all sorts of interesting fashion choices. Today, in fact, I spotted a student wearing boots so furry that for a few seconds I seriously thought she had a Lhasa Apso weaving between her ankles. Yesterday, though, was a new first. Walking back from a trip to the cash machine, I came up behind a female student wearing a skirt so short that you could see at least an inch of the control top to her pantyhose. This is not merely immodest, my friends, this is a definite fashion faux pas.

Anyway, I have dance tonight, which I hope I don't fall asleep for. My class runs from 7 pm until at least 8:30, sometimes 9, and it's getting increasingly hard for me to stay alert for that entire spell. Tonight is the beginning of a new session, and I should be fine for this 8 weeks. After that, I'll have to evaluate. I'll be over 30 weeks, and I don't know that I can commit to an 8 week session at that point. Perhaps I'll try to go week to week.

For the rest of the weekend, I plan to nest. Maybe get started on the storage, and clean out the baby's changing table/dresser. I have to teach at Children's Liturgy of the Word on Sunday, followed by the open house for Catholic School A. I'll fill you in on all the details Monday morning. :)

Good finds at the Goodwill...

Now that my bump is growing steadily, I've transitioned to some maternity clothes mixed in with regular clothes that still fit me. And as every pregnant woman has experienced, my maternity wardrobe is considerably smaller than my regular winter fare. I have some things from when I was pregnant with Hank, although much of that is summer clothes that aren't practical right now. I have some loaners, but many of them don't fit. Maternity clothes are tough to gauge and fit. Just because all women get bigger bellies during pregnancy does not mean that any maternity item will fit every one of them. And everyone has different comfort zones with how they want to display their body when pregnant. I know that many women prefer to shroud their bellies more than I do. Me, I love my belly. :) Maybe it's the belly dancing, but I find pregnant bellies truly beautiful. I want to show it off, so I prefer bump highlighting clothing. Long, fitted sweaters and blouses are my favorites, with simple classic pants or long skirts. My current closet selection is limited, and the problem is I don't want to spend a lot of money of clothes that I'm only going to wear for 4 more months.

So, I've been scrounging for bargains to enhance my maternity wardrobe a bit. I hit the jackpot at a Target clearance sale 2 weeks ago. I scored 2 sweaters and 2 dresses for about $24. Well, yesterday I had an idea that worked out even better.

Thrift store, baby! On my way home from work, I stopped off at one of our local Goodwill's. What a gem! I couldn't find the maternity clothes at first, so I shopped the skirt section. Now *this* was a refreshing change from my fruitless search for longer skirts in regular stores. :) Long skirts prevailed over their mini sisters by a total of at least 2 to 1. I didn't pause too long over anything that had a fitted waistline or zipper for obvious reasons (or anything dated and frumpy; these abound at thrift stores). I browsed quickly just for stretchy waists, and found 2 items in my size: a t-length black skirt, and an ankle length brown wool. I was absolutely thrilled.

I scoured my way through the whole store without spotting a maternity sign or anything resembling a pregnant woman with swollen ankles as an icon. So, I stopped a high school kid with a Goodwill vest on to ask his assistance. He directed me "over by the evening wear." OOkkk. The evening wear revealed...evening wear, so I was stymied for a minute or so. Finally, I spotted a maternity tag, although the section wasn't labeled.

I suppose that's because it was so tiny. But hey, I'm not fussy. Unfortunately, the section was not all maternity, mixed in with some other odd choices. But I looked through every item carefully, and picked out a pair of jeans and a pair of pin-striped khaki pants that I can wear to work. I'm betting there are many other maternity clothes in their collection, just unwittingly interspersed amongst the regular clothes. Alas, I didn't have time for such a treasure hunt.

The total for the 2 stretchy skirts and 2 pants? $9! Loving it! I'm going to stop off at Goodwill #2 on my way tonight. Super excited. :)

Baby CL's world: January edition

So, news in the life of Baby CL... I had my 22 week ob/gyn appointment this past Monday, and the 20 week mark begins the measurement of "fundal height," meaning they measure your belly. Mine is pretty nonexistent when I lay down, so that was that.

Everything else looks textbook, and the baby has a nice steady heartbeat of 140 beats per minute. Hank got to hear it, which he made his "I'm excited, but trying not to look excited" face for. I asked about my groin (ugh!) muscle pain, and she believes that it is just round ligament pain, and will subside with time. In fact, it has already subsided, and hasn't bothered me at all this week, which is a real blessing.

I go back in 4 weeks, and this will be my glucose screening for gestational diabetes, after which I'll begin appointments every 2 weeks. I mean, seriously. This pregnancy is flying by.

My belly is very much in that "cute" phase. Too bad that doesn't last until the end of pregnancy... I have pulled out the maternity clothes finally. I'm still wearing my regular pants with a Bella Band (the maternity pants are still a bit too big), but the tops are a welcome addition since they tend to be longer and more belly flattering.

I noticed an interesting thing when bargain shopping at Target on Monday. Apparently designers think that pregnant women prefer modest clothing because all the blouses, skirts and dresses are longer. That's fine, no objection there, but why don't they make more non-pregnant clothing like this? I was hoping to find some stretchy sweaters and long skirts/dresses, and once again, slim pickings. But buried in the 75% off rack?

*angels sing*

I found 2 adorable sweaters (Liz Lange Maternity) with cowl necklines and a flattering waist that stretches to the hips marked down to $6.24. I scooped both. I also found 2 dresses that although not ankle length, extend well past the knee. I was surprised to see that both were also Liz Lange Maternity. I would have rather bought regular ones so that I could wear them after pregnancy too, but for $7 I wasn't complaining. I got the dresses in black and gray. I also grabbed a long gray sweater/cardigan that I can wear over my more summery maternity tops from my pregnancy with Hank. It was a very good bargain.

Skirts though were very hard to come by, as always. Unless you wear skirts that go to mid-thigh level, which frustrates me to no end. I'll keep looking. Sometimes Old Navy has long skirts. They don't have any right now, but maybe when the spring clothes come out.

Anyway, Baby CL has been very cutely attired the past couple of days. I feel him/her moving around in there regularly, and I can't wait to meet them in just 4 and a half months!