I'm On Vacation and I'm Seriously Happy About It

So much to say... I've been getting myself organized for the holiday extravaganza that has (mercifully) just begun. Today's Scott's birthday. Soon we're off to Mtl (no surprise this year). What is a surprise is that my mother is taking my sister and me to Dublin and the Ring of Kerry!! So, like some crazy world traveler, I'll be leaving from Montreal, second year running, to go to Europe. I sense I should make this a habit. :-)

The net result is that I'm going to be away from work for 3 full weeks (and weekends, natch). Other than when I was half-dead from pertussis, I've not taken this much time, all at once, away from work. I'm vaguely giddy. Honestly, I'm burned out and I need a chance to work on my own schedule, to eat and drink on patios, to pursue creative things, to do some yoga, unfettered by other responsibilities.

So question 1 is for the peeps with knowledge of Ireland. I've had some awesome feedback about restaurants not to be missed (a coworker is married to a guy from Dublin and his brother is a chef there. They spend about a month a year in Ireland. Not a bad advisor, huh??). But I'm looking for lunch suggestions and bra boutique suggestions and other cool store suggestions and great things to see suggestions (we're happy to go to castles, churches and creepy places). Are there any foods not to be missed?

I'm sad to say that I am not a beer drinker. At all. Like, of all the booze it's the only kind I can't get with. It's like bread soda. But natch, I'm going to drink a Guinness. Perhaps in its homeland, it will appeal to me. To clarify, our trio of gluten-sensitivity (I'm a newbie in this camp, but the other two are hardcore) will share one, I suspect.

I do intend to post while traveling, as long as the mood strikes. It usually does though, so I expect you'll hear as much from me as always - only in better locales!

The first few days of this hol will be spent here. I've decided to do some sewing, not that I need anything in particular. I just feel like updating some pieces (and revising fit, in a couple of instances, to suit those small, but notable changes in shape). Not to dwell, cuz it gets boring, but I'm struggling with body image right now, not something I tolerate well in others. So I'm smacking myself up the side of the head and reminding myself that a) I am able b) stylish c) a competent sewist and, more to the point, fitter d) able to discern the changes for what they are and to manage them e) more than simply a body and f) unremittingly hot as far as my husband is concerned. I'm also a hormonal mess who continues to function, pretty fucking well, with a number of mid-life health concerns. So I'm going to take this moment in time for what it is and make pretty things that fit me beautifully and bamboozle everyone into thinking I've still got that figure - or maybe even determine that the figure I have right now is just as attractive, albeit different.

Brief side note: I have no idea of how celebrity women actors deal with this shit. Sure, many of them are well-off, but to lose one's livelihood when one's body changes (and for 80 per cent of us, it's going to change, at least somewhat), when one's hormones are at their most intense. It's so unfair. Not to mention that we gain confidence and perspective in age - two things that are likely to improve an actor's ability exponentially. Um, I have no idea how I got off on this tangent but I also feel outrageously bad for the animals in the zoo and the unloved gardens. I'm having a sensitive moment.

OK, back to sewing plans. My goal is to:

• Make things I've made before. Why? Cuz I know how to fit them with minimal insanity and I also know they'll be worn.

• Use stash fabrics. I'm not buying more stuff. I have enough. It's just a matter of aligning what I want to make with the fabrics I have available. Gotta say, I'm glad I've started buying 2 yard minimums. Broadens my options, even as it may leave me with unusable scraps.

• Get a little bit fun (but not insanely). I'm going to use some new-to-me fabric combos. It's a risk, and I may end up with wadders. Or it could be genius success!!

• Hilariously, I'm likely to make pretty well the same shit I make every time I do a spring-summer capsule collection: denim skirt, a couple of dresses, a top and a destructured jersey jacket (I am going to Ireland after all). Here's a link to my prep document, in case you're interested in seeing what I've considered. It also shows how insanely process-oriented I am. I spent all night researching the stash and aligning it with patterns in the inventory and rereading my posts on the items and looking at other fitting reviews. In some ways, I find this as enjoyable as sewing.

• Every fabric I will use has some stretch. Even the denims. Even the Japanese dot. I've come to realize that I don't like the restriction of woven fabrics with no give, even when they fit. And if you're not seriously toned in all the places, a bit of stretch (even 10 per cent) can make a huge difference in drape and fall. You can still make very structured garments with fabric that stretches. And it will go a long way to skim over the areas that you'd prefer to play down. I'd argue that the best structured garments have 10% stretch. That allows for some containment without being restrictive.

Questions 2 and on: What do you think of my fabric and pattern choices (if you've checked out the prep doc)? What's your take on stretch fabric for structured garments? As a sewist of a certain age, have you found that sewing helps you to keep a level head about changes to your body at a transitional stage? Regardless of life stage, can you relate to this issue of everything morphing, in terms of fit - even as the numbers may not have changed that much? Let's talk!