This little guy is the reason I took my pics inside this morning. What a surprise - I haven't seen a possum in my yard in probably 14 years. Weston is bordered on 3 sides by the Everglades and natural wetland preserves. So we do get visitors - deer, even an occasional black bear (strange to think of bears in such a hot climate, but Florida is full of them). Also snakes, alligators, iguanas, and, yes, possums.
A couple photos were about as brave as I felt. And he eventually trotted along to my neighbor's yard. I really hope he finds a more suitable home somewhere else. He was very thin, and I imagine he finds himself in a difficult environment. Unfortunately my neighbor puts out bread (bread! horrible choice) for the ducks, so perhaps he has been hanging out over there.
On to sewing. I can hardly believe that I made this pattern for the first time way back in February of 2015. In fact I made two - one in black cotton jersey, and a second one in white cotton/rayon jersey.
BTW, this was a free download from Hot Patterns, but it's not easy to find it now. Here's a link I came across this morning, no idea how long they will make it available.
I've worn my tops so much! The black one is just barely hanging in. It's pretty faded, and it's more of a PJ top now. And I recently spilled coffee on the white one, which is my favorite. Sigh. Problem is, the stain will NOT come out. I've tried 3 different ways - Oxi Clean, Grandma's Stain Remover, stain treatment stuff, everything short of bleach (which would probably eat the fabric or turn it yellow). Suggestions?
But all good reason enough to make a new one...
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| Pants - True Bias Hudson Pants, ITY jersey |
The fabric - I love this rampant floral ITY knit, which I found on FabricsUniverse, a great little Etsy shop (not the 'fancy' fabric store in L.A). Originally I intended to use it for a maxi dress, to be worn to my grandson's Grandparents Day program. Well - I did sew it up, and, wow, I was totally drowned by the print. But it is perfect for a top, and the dress gave me ample yardage.
My first post on the Joyful Top has lots of info on the many many changes I made to the original pattern. And I carried those over to this version as well.
E.g., I added 2" to the front and back skirt (I'm 5'7"), lowered the back yoke by 1" (the back yoke on the original pattern is incredibly high), and added elbow length sleeves.
And I used self-fabric binding on the neckline, rather than a narrow hem.
The big change for this version is the hemline, which I changed to have a true hi-lo look. The original pattern appears to be hi-lo, but in reality the difference between the front and back hems is only 1".
On my previous versions, I evened out the hemline by lowering the front by 1". But here I've lowered the back by about 4". Because I'm really smitten with hi-low hemlines this year.
ITY can be uncooperative when it comes to sewing details, and I've found that no two ITY fabrics are alike. IMHO, the trick is to start with lots of tests on scraps, on every machine that will be used, to get a feel for the fabric. Cuts down on frustration, wad, unwad, 'get out the ripper' time...
A couple sewing notes on this version: My hems are very narrow, but they were pretty easy to do - I simply serged the edges and used 1/4" Steam-a-Seam to help me turn and stitch them.
I treated the sleeve hems a little differently, because they're right up there at eye-level - finish is important. I serged the edges, turned them up about 3/4", basted them in place, and finished with two rows of topstitching. No Steam-a-seam needed here.
No way was I going to try for a narrow hem on the flounce. I have my loony moments, but this was not one of them :-) Jersey doesn't run, so the flounce edges are unfinished.
This turned out to be a cute top. Pink is in, and I really enjoy wearing it.
Parting shot: Mr. Fish is now 2 weeks old. Gosh, he was so unwell when I brought him home (who wouldn't be, having lived in a little plastic cup at the pet store). He spent most of his time lying on a leaf, not eating much at all. But two days ago, he woke up in fine fiddle and is doing great now, swimming around and enjoying himself. He's very social - I just read that fish actually recognize faces. Cute boy...
It's almost the weekend, I hope yours is nice and enjoyable. Ciao! Coco
We like possum's here. Gene has raised a few as a matter of fact. They don't contract rabies BTW
ReplyDeleteand are rarely aggressive to humans. Oh they'll hiss, and then, well, play possum! It could be a she and there are little ones in her pouch nursing but it seems late for that in the year. Given FL climate though, maybe they go almost year round?
Lovely top, such a great print on you!
I really agree with you and Gene - but feel sad for this one, there is so little to offer in my little garden. In the past, different house, I had a mama and her litter in my pump shed. No problems as long as she let me do what I needed to to backwash the pool plumbing :-) I do wish my neighbor, since she feeds the wildlife, could choose something more nutritious than bread. Oh well.
DeleteThis one was not showing visible signs of being enceinte. And they probably have young all year here. Everything grows in Florida - I have a regular boudoir in the back yard, between the lizards, birds, and squirrels! No idea what the worms are doing...
Have you tried hanging your white top in the sun to get rid of the coffee stain? I had a horrible tomato stain that disappeared almost while I watched it. Nothing else worked. It's worth a try and free at that. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteIt is a good thing to encourage that little possum as they eat a ton of ticks and other pesky insects. One hangs out at my house and eats some of the cat food I put out for the feral kitties (they have been fixed and are really cute) I share with the neighbors across the street. Put a little dry cat food out for her, and maybe a little water. You are correct about the bread for the ducks. Bird seed is cheap and much better for them. I love your top, by the way.
ReplyDeleteLove your new top! Thank you for including all the links as I'm printing it out now. Like the sleeves you added and the modifications you made. You are so pretty in the pink floral.
ReplyDeleteLovely new top! Love the bright Florida colors!
ReplyDeleteCoco, this is as cute as anything I've seen lately! I love the print, the shape of the top and how it fits! Adorbs!
ReplyDeleteLove the bright colors! I have this pattern too, but have never made it. I guess I need to give it a try.
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