You inspire me Beki; pattern alterations are entirely too Project Runway for me! I ordered this pattern (http://www.indygojunctioninc.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=839) to baby step me into garment sewing. My plan is to lengthen the hem and sash the mess out of it to avoid a tater sack silhouette. I eventually want to sew EVERYTHING in this book (http://www.sewserendipity.com/product_info.php?products_id=145). Wear both of your dresses out! Most off the rack items don't fit us curvy girls perfectly anyhow. ;0) Love & hugs! ~ Amy

Stephanie, Your post is a major co-wink-e-dink* for me. The bar analogy is exactly what I've felt but lacked the verbiage to explain to dear Hubby. May the road rise up to meet you. *-Hope you've seen NCIS and don't think I can't spell.

Dearest Beki, Our sisterhood of support is here for you! I went through my Martha phase when my dear Son was a toddler. Once he started K and I went back to work, I thought I too could master my universe. A few years later I wound up in the hospital on the floor that doesn't have locks on the bathroom doors. My parents were mortified. I've been climbing out of that pit ever since. Meds, therapy, and counseling keep me semi-sane. I also struggle with a chronic disease (Lupus) and spend many a day in bed feeling guilty about everything I haven't accomplished. If it weren't for thinking about, books about, blogs about, and actually doing crafts/sewing projects, I would be vegetating somewhere in a ward. My psychiatrist (who's published 2 books) says EVERY time that I should do the crafting so I can do the rest. That dang guilt eats me up though. Please know you have my support and I too will lift the veil to show my reality instead of the carefully cropped photos on my blog. Hugs & happy crafting. ♥ Amy

Hey Amy, Ginevra came through with the upgrade trial! I was snooping around the preview and noticed "Add Custom CSS" on the Design tab. After I quit hollering with joy, I had to do a search to find out how to make it work since I am CSS illiterate. I found an article here http://help.sixapart.com/tp/us/backgound_images.html that was just copy and paste. I uploaded my image and used the first box of code. I started tinkering with the CSS code after doing a bit of Googling. I was able to change my main column width to 750 (instead of the 500 I had before) which made my photos really stand out. {By the way, awhile back I tried the fluid column width option but my dear Sister called from Atlanta complaining that her old school monitor was cutting off some of my blog.} I was so happy with the photos standing out that I switched from the 3 column center layout to the 2 column right. Am I boring you to tears with tech talk yet? Basically Ginevra has hooked me with the bells and whistles! I'll upgrade until they can include custom CSS as part of our level...like it should be. P.S. I ♥ your designs! Your work is amazing! I added you to my google reader and will visit often. Hugs & happy crafting!