Holiday Outfit and Holiday Outings

I was hemming this top thirty minutes before leaving for the holiday open house this evening, a last minute crunch that I haven't done in many years.  It's Burda 7092 sewn up in a textured silk dupioni with gold and black threads.  

Burda 7092

Since it has raglan sleeves it's rather an easy sewing job.  My major extra procedure was to underline the whole thing with a lightweight silk organza.  I like how minimizes wrinkles.  I used size 40 for the neckline and shoulder area out to a size 42 by my waist and hip area. The shoulders and armhole fit nicely after I made the minor alterations I needed and the collar is a nice size and flattering.  I'm just not perfectly happy with how the facing is slightly exposed along the collar seam line. Not exactly sure how to fix that but I'll mull over some ideas.  Next time I think I will narrow the last 12 inches of the ties belt. It has a bias middle section that I narrowed by 4 inches (and added eight extra inches) but I think I could further taper the two straight of grain pieces that form the front of the tie which would make it perhaps more obi tie like.  Of course I could be getting too fussy, something I see happen to other sewers.  We accept less than perfect all the time in RTW but frequently criticize ourselves unceasingly.  

As for other holiday celebrations, I went up to Pennsylvania on Friday (stopping at Fabric Mart, of course, and you'll see those pictures after Christmas) and my girlfriend and I visited Longwood Gardens   Longwood Gardens This time of year the main focus is on 20 plus gardens in the conservatory and its 5,500 plants surrounded this time of year by marvelous Christmas displays.  

Outside in the winter weather there are marvelous light displays after dark. I hadn't been to Longwood for several years so it was beautiful, new and yet also familiar. It's easy to see why tickets frequently sell out for this special place.

Another holiday treat was seeing the new movie release, "Saving Mr. Banks," at a grand, recently restored old movie theater in the area.  Mr. Lucky and I give it two thumbs up.  I grew up reading and loving all of the Mary Poppins books....and I do recall being suspicous, like the author P.L. Travers, that Disney would not do them justice.  I went to the Disney Mary Poppins movie (spring, 1965) with my best friend and absolutely enjoyed it yet also knew that it wasn't exactly what the author had in mind.  This latest film is the backstory to the writing of the film and now I better understand those misgivings.  Emma Thompson is superb as P.L Travers and Tom Hanks as Walt Disney is annoying and touching at the same time.  I was so moved by the film that I have already reserved the biography Valerie Lawson's "Mary Poppins, She Wrote."

I'll close with some snow pictures from my Pennsylvania visit.  Mr. Lucky and I are no longer seasonal Florida snowbirds.....but look, here are some real ones.  Whether your weekend was warm or snowy, I hope it was a good one.