I'm Working. Really I am.

Work in progress.  Slow, but when you have days like today, maybe that's better all the way around.

Funny thing is, this isn't the shirt I started.  I cut the neck and the cuffs off the green turtleneck first:

Hey there, remember me?

Same shirt, different lighting.

I decided I probably wouldn't wear the green one first, so yesterday I had to steal another turtleneck off the pile because somebody (I'm not saying WHO) was sleeping on all of them.  

Would you try to pull one out from under this guy?  Me, neither.  I value my hand.

I thought I would wear the dark rose colored one first anyway, so that's the one I swiped while the Sewing Assistant was otherwise occupied.  I cut the collar and cuffs off of it. Then I started playing around with designs.  (I'd show you my design drawings, but then I'd have to shoot you.  You know, in case you blabbed to Oscar de la Renta or something like that.)  Once I started pulling out knit fabrics I've collected, I noticed a strange phenomena:  I kept changing my mind about how I wanted to refashion the shirt.  Well, maybe that's not so strange.  I'm sure other artists and craftspeople do the same thing.  But there is such a thing as too many choices.  This looks good with this....but wait, this one looks even better....but what if I do this?  I pulled out a lovely remnant that will actually tie in both the colors of the dark rose & the pink turtlenecks, so I scrapped my original plans for both of those shirts and set them aside to think about.  Then I picked up a t-shirt that I bought for about $3 at a Kohl's clearance sale last year....found an inspiration pic in my file....a couple of dollar store t-shirts.....some lovely brown jersey knit I bought in a remnant bin for about 25 cents.....

The inpiration shirt (Anthropologie)

The bits and pieces....

...and I was off and running.  Well, except for getting called in to work yesterday.  And then driving to Long Beach today to deposit the check, a check from another client, and the cash my son finally paid me that he owed me.  And that little errand cost me most of today - there was a terrible accident on the freeway coming home, and the entire southbound side was shut down.  I was grouchy because the bank wouldn't cash the paycheck from the sign shop (long story), my son was with me in the car and neither of us had eaten, I needed to use the ladies' room and it didn't look like we'd be moving any time soon, my son realized that we weren't going to make it home in time for him to go to his music class, etc.  Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. 

We decided to go to the movies about an hour or so later, because it sounded like a good way to wind down.  Not wanting to take the freeway again (in case they still hadn't gotten it cleared), I went up the street.  And would you believe it?  There was another accident.  And the traffic in front of us just.  Wasn't.  Moving.  We finally gave up when we were still sitting two blocks from the house, the movie was miles and miles away and had already started, and my son said "Let's just go home."

By the time we finally made it there, all my creative energy was sapped.  So this is all I've gotten done so far on this shirt that I was so excited about yesterday:

One sleeve and part of the torso of the new shirt.  

Yes, I know.  I should have cropped the photo.  Just not up to it, even though doing this little bit of sewing helped me not to feel so grouchy anymore.  And boy, do I need to make a new cover for this little ironing board......

But not until I finish this shirt.  Tomorrow.