I have had a very busy day.  Made 2 open-front skirts for Andi.  It is all machine sewing and since she likes elastic waistbands and I do narrow machine-sewn hems because she isn't too careful with her garb, they only take about 90 min. to do.  Also repaired 2 pr. of bloomers for her; she had split the crotch seams.  I think the bloomers are too small for her and that is why the seams split.  Put a gusset in one pr, which should help them fit better, but couldn't find any fabric to go with the fabric in the other pair, so just sewed them up and reinforced the seams with cotton twill tape.  It would have been nice if she had washed them before giving them to me.  Phew.

Then made a new skirt for myself.  Pink plaid homespun with a small glittery fuschia stripe in the plaid.  Just gives the fabric a little sparkle when the sun hits it.  Will wear it with a dark green split skirt garded and bordered with black corduroy embroidered with flowers and vines in shades of pink and rose.  There is a matching bodice in the embroidered corduroy.  The chemise is white with black embroidered stripes.  I think it will be smashing.

I did shorten all 3 pair of pantaloons to just above the knee and edged them with very pretty point lace that looks handmade altho' it is polyester and made in China.  At least is machine washable and dryable.  My skirts do look fuller with pantaloons beneath them, which I like.  Working in the store, I can't wear hoops, so anything that makes the skirts look fuller I like.  Except for bum rolls.  They make me look like I have a shelf in back.

Will shampoo and condition tomorrow before I drive up to Bristol.

Temps are supposed to be in the 70s, so should be nice weekend.

I am shedding quite a bit.  I think it is my normal spring shed, just delayed because of the late spring.  I suspect that my hair has entered a resting stage.  I measured and was surprised to see no growth at all.  Of course, I was jumping the gun.  I'll wait until Aug 1 and see what it looks like then.  I hope it's just a resting stage; I really want longer than 23 in.  I know I should have done this years ago, when I was younger, but will still be disappointed if I can't have more length than this.

I am pre-washing all the homespun I bought last year.  Would like to get a couple of skirts made, but have some repair work to do for people I work with at the shop.  I get paid in jewelry.    That's fun.

The weather was beautiful on the weekend.  Sunny and in the 70s.

Wore the chemise with the black embroidery and got many compliments.  Yay!!  I knew that would be a hit.

ditto!

It appears that the leave-ins I have been trying to tame the frizzies are causing the breakage I have been noticing.  Mousse, gel or serum: they all cause breakage.  I looked at the ingredients on the two serums I have tried and both have denatured alcohol, which I had read was a no-no.

So hair care is now: condition and rinse every morning, shampoo every 3rd or 4th day, only use the vinegar rinse every 2nd or 3rd shampoo.  The daily conditioning does tame the frizzies to a degree.

I think my hair has stopped growing.  I hope 23" is not terminal length, altho it is an attractive length for me, I really did want waist-length hair.  Sigh.

On a good note, a male friend said that without his glasses, he always recognized me because I had a lot of long, dark hair.     Yay!!

Bristol was interesting last weekend.  Business was really slow Sat, but quite brisk on Sun.  Weather was good both days, we had a tiny sprinkle on Sun and ended the day with a rainbow!!  I bought a necklace and pin from a woman who does fimo clay.  The brooch is a portrait of Princess Elizabeth.  I also had two new ear cuffs made with Swarovski crystals and bought one with a goldstone bead.  I have ordered a goblet that looks like a tree from Hearthstone Arts, as well as a bodice cooler, both of which I will pick up next weekend.

My students did persuasive speeches today and I could see a real improvement from the first speeches they did.  It's amazing how much better they get in only 5 weeks.  Of course, the book shows them just exactly what to do, and I go over it with them and try to give them in-class time to practice.  We were a little short on in-class practice time this semester because it was a big class.

Shampooed my hair today and used the L'Oreal.  Came out pretty nice, not frizzy.

Redid all the hems on my skirts last week, didn't take long at all. About 20-30 min. per skirt.  Mon. pm after I got home from school, altered the bodice I made last week.  Took about 3 hrs.  When I tried it on for sizing, I forgot that my skirts would push it higher, so adjusted the shoulders incorrectly.  The straps kept falling off my shoulders and it was too wide across the top back.  So out came the seam ripper.  Removed the shoulder rolls and the bias tape I sew over the raw edges, opened the shoulder seams completely, and about 2" in the center of the back neck seam, and opened the lining seam from side seam to side seam.  Turned it inside out as much as possible and sewed long darts as close to the waist seam as I could in both the lining and the right side, then sewed the back neck seam and turned it right side out.  Sewed the right sides of the shoulder straps together, then hand-sewed the lining seams, reattached the shoulder rolls and hand-sewed the bias tape and the lining.

Yesterday I cut out a new bodice which I hope to make tomorrow.  Have to do some repair work, and grade speeches, so may or may not have time for the bodice.