Flypaper thoughts and tie dye underwear edition

Subtitle: just when you thought you had seen it all.

I have taken care of the kids most of the week, plus two drop-ins from next door. It has been a fun and funny week and one that reminded me of the realities of being a mother of young children. More on that later. My daughter says these guys are ready to go back to school and I thought this was hard hearted, childhood being short etc., by I am here to report she might be right.

By the time I sent them all off every evening I was in sore need of some therapeutic sewing to gather my forces for the next day but not up to say starting a winter tailoring project or drafting a bodice.

I needed to just fool around at my machine with small pieces of fabric and limited ambition.

So I decided to do some practical sewing and to revisit a few patterns.

One of those patterns was this one from Jalie 2568 for underwear:

The underpants have two leg openings higher cut and what Jalie calls hipster, (although in French these are called culottesde garçonne, literally a female version of boy's underwear - what you might be familiar with as boy cut).

After making all versions I have settled on the front of the higher cut, because I don't like anything tight at the top of my leg and the back from the hipster/boy cut for coverage - and the higher waist too.

With all this experimenting I grabbed a very stretchy rayon knit I had picked up at some point in a tie dye, thinking the kids might like a T shirt at some point, and the next thing you know I have four pairs of comfortable tie dye underpants. To finish both the top and the legs I just stitched on some stretch lace because it was light. Past experience with the turned and stitched elastic edges on underpants is that it can be a bit stiff and too tight around the leg.

Now that's about all anyone can say about this project, except that I had fun making these and will be making more, although maybe not tie dye.

Now onto a few flypaper thoughts that sum up the week:

• Took the bunch of them fabric shopping.
• I guess every zipper needed touching
• High point was Miss Scarlett
• Who as we were leaving she turned and announced to the store in general
• "I will be back when I am older and have my own money!"
• Other high points
• Discovering without any doubt whatsoever
• That a jar of quinoa will expand when dumped down a bathroom sink drain
• My husband says not to worry
• Probably if we take off the vanity, break the wall, and the open up the ceramic ceiling of the bathroom below
• There will be no need to get into the pipes that come into the house in the front yard
• That's good news
• Not really an enormous fan of quinoa anyway
• Not her fault
• Heidi was just in there trying to dye it blue
• Of course
• Nothing surprises a grandmother who is herself wearing tie dye underwear
• There will be no more fighting over who gets to carry the caterpillar home
• There will also be no more fighting over who lost the caterpillar
• Also made a workout bra
• Out of the cotton ponte scraps left over from my daughter's lab coat
• Good support but more along the lines of lift than separate
• Will report on that in the next day or two
• Not sure if trying to shop vac quinoa out of a bathroom drain counts as a workout
• It certainly should
• This is what comes of a no technology childhood
• Children on iPhones hardly ever try to dye the side dishes blue
• All dogs are therapy dogs
• Babsie's day off tomorrow