...if I put a bid on and purchase a pattern on eBay that I've been looking at for several months? I mean technically I could lose the bid right? Then again I could win and that would mean that I would miss the mark 38 days short of my goal...
So is it cheating?
It's the weekend so I will finish up my Dior dress but I have to tell you I'm quickly losing interest in it due to the horribly cold weather we are having here in the NY Metro Area. One walk down 57th Street with the wind blowing, my coat flapping and my knees quivering quickly reminded me of why I DON'T wear dresses in the winter...
Which upon reflection has made me remarkably sad. I really wanted to figure out a way to continue to wear them but I'm a wimp. The cold beats me every time...I just DON'T like to be cold! Cuteness goes out the window...style goes out the window...all I want is a Dunkin Donuts medium hot chocolate in my gloved hand and as much wool around me as my body can stand to chase the cold away...
So I'm putting the pretty lightweight skirt/dress suit wools away and pulling out the heavy duty wools purchased for pantsuit making...cause I'm thinking that its gonna be a cold, cold winter and this girl better be prepared.
That's it for tonight...more later!
LOL, ;)
ReplyDeleteyes, but isn't it the time of year when we all indulge and cheat a bit?
So, which one?
Oh come on, winter in NYC is not so bad, I've been there. I live in Edmonton, AB Canada, and I wear dresses and skirts when it's -20C or colder, tromping through 1-2ft of snow on unplowed sidewalks, uphill both ways! (lol, not really the last bit) - so you can do it in NY!
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with Marji that it is the time of year when a bit of cheating is allowed.
Even in the moderate climate I am in, it will be in the 20's tonight and brrrrr. If I lived up north, I would definitely retire the dresses in favor of the slacks and the silky thermals and anything else I could find to keep warm in. I look forward to seeing what you come up with-always a treat. mssewcrazy
ReplyDeleteI've found a dress-length coat with good boots does the trick for me here in Chicago (and it worked in Boston) but getting warm winter boots usually means you have to sacrifice a bit on fashion.
ReplyDeleteYou'll come up with some great, warm clothes, I have faith! I'm with you on the 'pile it on and give me a hot drink' thing. I just freeze, and go into hibernation mode or something. Warm weather will come again though, and you'll be right back on that dress, with new insights from the incubation period.
ReplyDeleteBid on the pattern. If you miss it now, it may not come back when you really need it. :)
Go for it and you won't regret it. Life is too short to deny yourself something that you really want. As far as being cold, you are not alone. I despise being cold. I made DH drive this week because his truck is warmer than my car.
ReplyDeleteYou need leg warmers!
ReplyDeleteThat's not cheating! You had mentally committed to the purchase months ago when you began looking, right? You might not see this particular pattern ever again.
ReplyDeleteUh Carolyn,
ReplyDeleteThat's cheating. Don't do it...really think about what you have in the stash pile and why you went on the diet in the first place. I'm just saying...Stick to your guns girl!
CarlaF-in Atlanta
Yes, it IS cheating. But you're the boss and you can change the rules anytime you like :). Kasmira from What I Wore today had a post a while back showing how she wears pants under her dress along with a coat to work. Then she takes off the pants when she gets there. Any chance that could solve your problem? Or what about thermals under the dress and long coat?
ReplyDeleteIt was 87 degrees downtown Los Angeles today where I took a group of ASG members fabric shopping. I wore a short sleeved cotton t-shirt and jeans with sandals. I want some cold weather! I can't even wear the nice poly/lycra tops I've made or the twin set because of the heat. I would love to have to suffer the cold, just for a little while.
ReplyDeleteOh, and get the pattern if you want it. There is always room for just one more.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think you look really nice in slacks. And yeah, this cold weather really sucks. And think of all the pants patterns you have that are just crying for you to cut them....
ReplyDeleteHave you ever considered a longer coat or even leg warmers?
ReplyDeleteYou have done so well - bid on the pattern - whats a few days (do I sound like the bad angel on your shoulder?) by not buying any for so long you have achieved what you set out to do - it was never going to last forever - we all need new things and something to look forward to!
ReplyDeleteWhat's the auction? I'll outbid you on it and clear your conscious. If I win it, I'll send it to you after the first of the year.
ReplyDeleteLOL regarding the dresses. I have a saying regarding the cold in New England, "Cold knows no fashion." If it's warm, you'll be wearing it, no matter how ugly it is! Now, where's that hot chocolate? I have to rake leaves in the 20 something degree weather today.
LOL yeah it's cheating.
ReplyDeleteI pull out my wool tights and boots and long coat time. Of course, in suburbia I am only walking to and from my car!
It most certainly is cheating. You set a goal for yourself. So, you have a choice to make. You either stick to your guns and don't buy the pattern or you give in and add it to the huge pile of patterns you already have. In the end, it's all about which choice you can feel better about.
ReplyDeletePersonally, if it was me, I'd ask someone to buy it for me for Xmas. That way, I maintain the spirit of my pattern diet, but I also get the pattern I want (especially, if it one that you can't imagine finding again on eBay). Plus, someone (one of your daughters?) can cross off a gift on her list.
So, I guess what I'm saying is that you should be a big weasel like me and bend those rules, baby! :)
When I lived at cold military bases and taught, the kids came in in short cute dresses and their dad's military issue long johns. They'd whip them off right in homeroom.
ReplyDeleteHave you considered a grown-up version of snow pants? You could make a pair of matching wool pants to go with your coat, then take them off when you get places.
Summerset beat me to it! I was going to volunteer to bid for you then hold it. How about if you bid on it, but have one of your daughters hide it when it comes until after December 31? That kinda sorta counts...
ReplyDeleteOh and BTW, I hear you on the temperatures! I think in Boston we may be the same or even a wee bit colder. It got me working on a new coat!
ReplyDeleteIt definitely is NOT cheating, because you know you want/need the pattern. You've achieved your goal, just for a shorter time period. The sign of a successful sewist is the ability to adapt to a new situation; a wonderful vintage pattern necessitated a change in the parameters of your challenge. The challenge will be over when you buy the pattern.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you are so cold, but you do look smart and chic in pants. Think of the diversity of your wardrobe with a lots of nice pants suits.
Karendee
Being in CA, I shouldn't complain about the cold but when it gets below 60 degrees, I'm wearing at least two sweatshirts, jeans, and wool socks. I'd never make in Chicago or New York. I wouldn't be able to go outside or move away from the heater for that matter. How do you all stand that kind of cold? I give thanks to my forebearers who had the good sense to move to CA a very long time ago.
ReplyDeleteRe: the pattern - I agree w/ letting one of your daughters get it for you as a holiday gift. I'd love someone to do that for me - either buy me a pattern or give me the specific suggestion for what they want for gifts.
Regards and stay out of the cold!
Teresa
(out here in the CA sunshine!)
That's what gorgeous boots and a likewise gorgeous coat are made for! Wearing nylons out in the weather would get you killed up where I live, literally. But, a nice pair of boots with a yummy long wool coat and a really special hat - that buys you a lot of cache.
ReplyDeleteFor the record, it is 17º up here right now and was 4º when I got up at 8:00 this AM.
yes , it is cheating but rules were made to be broken and life if short.
ReplyDeleteTights, Carolyn. They're back in style and nice and warm.
ReplyDeleteI do it with boots! I have one pair of fur-lined ones (kind of like Uggs, but less Ugg-ly and a little more sleek) I wear some days and swap out for heels at the office, or I just wear knee-high dress boots. That leaves maybe 2 inches between my skirt and my boots - its really not bad! One thing I've figured out with running in cold weather is that if your core is warm, the extremities are less important.
ReplyDeleteOf course, on the cold cold cold zero degree F days, I go for knee high boots over jeans every time, unless I have client meetings.
Boots just don't cut it. When that cold wind blows up your skirt, you just can't get warm again. Here in Buffalo, pants are the way to go. Now boots with pants work. Then I can wear wild but warm socks and no one sees them inside the boots. Never fails, if I put on a skirt I have to climb a ladder or bend over something. Pants are less embarrassing.
ReplyDeleteAs for cheating, have someone else buy it and put it away till 1/1/09. That counts. I have tried so many times to stop buying patterns. But I always find some style I have to have that isn't in my stash. I suppose if I worked on my drafting skills, it wouldn't matter. I could modify what I have.