The Tony Shirt

I finally took "after" pictures of the t-shirt I refashioned last weekend at the races. This was an old men's style t-shirt that I've worn, but wanted to make it less boxy. I'm not thrilled with how it turned out, but I learned a LOT doing it and I'm the only one that wasn't happy about it.
What I did:
~cut two inches off each side, all the way from hem to shoulder, cutting off even the sleeves.
~cut off four inches from the bottom front and did an arched bottom in back. I left the hem just cut, I like the curling effect.
~cut a wider neckline
~reatached the sleeves. They are only about a 1/4" shorter as I liked the length. Worked in some tucks to add shaping and allowance for the bust area. (This is the part I wasn't thrilled with)
~hemed neckline, cut small slits all the way around, weaved the ribbon through, stitched the ends together and made small stitches attaching it to the shirt in a few places so that it wouldn't move around.
~Added ribbon detail to shirt cuff. Made minute gathers all around so it fit a little snugger to the arm.
What I learned:
~be prepared to try it on a few times at every step!
~measure, mark, think. try it on, pin, think. If in doubt, try it on!
~ I REALY need to make the time to get my duck tape dress form made!
~Don't cut more before. You can always cut more later, doesn't always work to re-attach sections of fabric!! ; P

A weekend at the track

My hubby and I got to spend some time at the race track this weekend. We "camped" with his cousin's family. It's not exactly like any kind of camping you'd ever experience anywhere else. Each camper is within feet of each other, narrow alley-wide lanes to travel through, partying all around you, no tents allowed (only RV's, pop-up campers, piggy-back campers, etc...must be "self-contained" and have a generator because there's no electric hookups available) You're basically in a dirt parking lot with just enough room for your "bump-outs" on one side and your awning on the other.

We got home pretty late last night and over-slept this morning, so no time for uploading pics, but I'll post them all later in the week!

It was a pretty exciting race for me because Tony Stewart lead the most laps. In the end, NASCAR "called the race" (officially ended it early) because of rain with no end in sight. They can do that if the race is over half-way finished. There were less than 20 laps left, so it was pretty close to the end anyway. The only bugger in it for me (And Tony, of course) was that Tony was in the lead when they came in for a caution a few laps before the rain started, he put on fresh tires while most everyone else just did a "gas 'n go" so he fell pretty far back. BUT had the race gone to it's scheduled end, he'd have had fresh tires while everyone in front of him wouldn't, so there's a very plausible chance he'd have been able to lead in the end. Alas, that wasn't how it unfolded, and the top five cars all had their best finishes of the year based on a gamble with the weather. As they say - that's just a racing deal and a win is a win, no matter how you come by it. I agree to a certain extent - unless you crash or spin someone else out to get it. It's still a win, but I don't have much respect for that method of winning.

More racing drama happened with another of my favorite drivers - Kyle Bush; and one of my least favorite drivers - Juan Pablo Montoya. If Montoya isn't punnished by NASCAR for messing with Bush on a CAUTION LAP, my point will be made...Montoya can do whatever he wants - crashing people on purpose (he openly admits it!!!), driving dirty, etc... - and get away with it because no one wants to do the un-PC thing and complain about the first modern-racing-era foreign guy (from Bogota, Colombia). Well, to me, for anyone that climbs into one of those race cars, the same rules apply. I'm the first to admit Tony Stewart and Kyle Bush are very agressive drivers. And they take the heat from NASCAR, their sponsors, and the fans. I wanted Montoya to do well. I wanted to like him. It just isn't happening for me. He drives dirty, laughs it off and doesn't get punished by NASCAR.

On the flip side, former NASCAR bad-boy, anger-management graduate Tony Stewart was called a "CLASS ACT" by one of the announcers after their post-race interview. Give the boy a hand! This, at the same track where a few years ago he was accused of punching a safety crewman after he was wrecked. (false allegation)

Besides the race, it was a pretty good weekend all around. I decided I needed a day to myself, so I stayed behind at the camper on Saturday while the rest of the crew went into the track for the day's events. I got some sewing done. A refashion of a man's t-shirt into a more feminine version. It was my first completed refashion project and while I'm not overjoyed with how it came out, it was good enough to wear the next day, and I learned a LOT from the experience.
I do a lot of cross-stitching and while I'm doing that, I'm relaxed, poised, I don't rush. I don't think twice about ripping out a row or whole section of a project if it's wrong, I just do it and start it over again. I take pride in that work...it's a piece of art and it should be as I want it, not slapped together to meet a deadline.

While I was working on the t-shirt, I found myself rushing and not exactly doing things as they should be, and I thought - what is so different between this and cross-stitch? Well, while the t-shirt isn't going to be hung up on a wall, it's still a piece of art. So I began thinking about my sewing in the same light and you know - I really enjoyed it and I didn't rush, and it ended up half-way decent!

Sunday morning we had passes to Kasey Kahne's hospitality tent. Kasey is my hubby's favorite driver, so it was real exciting. I was able to get video coverage of his interview on my camera and may post it here later in the week as well. We also got pit passes and I was really enthralled with the inner workings of inspection and the pit carts. Again - took LOTS of pictures!
By the time the race came around, my camera battery went dead, but that's okay. We ended up walking back to the camper in the rain and thunder/lightning, ducking under the canopy just before the hail started! Seriously!

All in all, I had a great weekend. I spent some time away from the computer (especially freecycling and craigslist) and had some me-time, enjoyed one of my favorite sports up close and personal, and got to see my favorite driver called a class act...something I never would have guessed would happen a few years ago.

And now back to work. Oi.