Well, hello! It seems some of you have been wondering where I have been, why I haven’t been updating my blog, haven’t been reading and commenting on yours, haven’t been spreading the word on selfishness and seamstressing, and generally spreading my usual good vibes throughout the interweb. Thank you all for your concerned comments and reproachful nags (as you can imagine, I have a soft spot for comments that are both belligerent and flattering). Was I badly injured in a freak snowshoeing accident? Was I eaten by bears? Did I (gasp!) decide to abandon you all for good?? Fear not, treasured readers, I am well and there is a very simple explanation for my absence:
Alien abduction.
I know, I know, it sounds crazy. All I can really say is that they come in peace. To divulge any information beyond that would be risky and imprudent. So don’t ask. But suffice it to say that despite all that extraterrestrial ray-gun-and-flying-saucer dramarama and a surprisingly not-boring lot of Winter Olympics coverage, I did manage to finish the Valentine shirt for Dan, Burda 133 from the 10.2005 issue. Here it is on Dan, as he channels is inner model, with Slurpee and mobile phone as key props:
He’s been wearing it to work in hopes that someone will compliment him on it so that he can brag that I made it for him. So far no bites. I have decided this says more about his co-workers than it does about the shirt. Style-oblivious troglodytes!
I’ve made this shirt for Dan before (obviously during some other period of unselfish idiocy) with the only fitting problem being that the sleeves were a little too short. This time I lengthened them by an inch and a half and now they are mysteriously too wide. The shirt fits well through the chest but could stand to be a bit slimmer at the waist. I could take it in a smidge, but stocking the house with cookies and pie sounds like the easier and more fun solution. After all, why edit your sewing when you can edit your partner?
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February 26, 2010 at 1:58 pm
peter
Welcome back, SS! I can’t speak for the others but I was worried sick. I’ll believe the alien abduction story after I’ve seen whether you’ve returned with a mysteriously tighter jaw line and higher brows.
The shirt is very nice and goes extremely well with the Slurpee, btw.
February 26, 2010 at 2:03 pm
a peppermint penguin
Glad you are back. Good to know they come in peace, I can cross that off my list of worries.
S.-O.T.s sadly the world is full of them. I’m certain your gorgeousness (shirt and partner, in combo) will be recognised by more enlightened individuals eventually.
Cheers,
AJ
February 26, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Victoria Baylor
Welcome back!!! I was beginning to miss your posts (smile)! Dan’s shirt turned out great . Purple’s a nice color on him. Technically you can interpret the “non-compliments” to mean that it looked like he was wearing a store bought shirt. He could be getting ALOT of negative attention if his shirt looked homemade. So maybe in this case no compliment is a compliment!!!
February 26, 2010 at 3:46 pm
JoanneM
Great shirt and fun shots! Love the slurpee…..
February 26, 2010 at 3:57 pm
yoshimi
Welcome back! I’m really really really happy to hear your update!!
I agree with Victoria and “no compliment is a compliment” theory at all. It looks so great on him to me. Don’t rely on non-sewists. (We can’t believe in what sewists would comment either, haha)
February 26, 2010 at 4:22 pm
Amy Grant
The slurpee photo is very zoolander…. Im thinking that was his prose… funny. I agree that you should just get some cookies into him instead of altering a pattern, that would mean less time sewing stuff for yourself…
February 26, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Paulette
I completely agree…alter the partner!!! :) Love your sewing and your style!
February 26, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Beangirl
My theory was either alien abduction or witness protection program. While I’m happy to hear it was the aliens, it does sort of blow my romantic image of you and a well-dressed Dan roaming around some Californian suburb alá Steve Martin in “My Blue Heaven” (complete with arbitrary merengue dancing scene). Oh well.
February 26, 2010 at 5:32 pm
SpyNat
He looks totally smashing in that number. Way to win brownie points :D
February 26, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Beth Prince
That shirt totally rocks. His co-workers must be neanderthals.
February 26, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Jan
Excellent job on the shirt. Assume the aliens abducted you so they could tap into your sewing/style prowess. When they come back for the rest of us, I expect to see them all fashionably dressed!
February 26, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Michelle
Why is it YOU stand outside in the SNOWY weather to model, but it looks not so cold when Dan models? No snow, happy look. Very springy. I am so glad you are back. Send the aliens my way. I could use a vacation.
February 26, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Mary in FL
Edit your partner?! Egad! You silly wench! I only use that word because you would like it (I’m so sure). And a fine job of sewing, too.
February 26, 2010 at 6:59 pm
Kathi
I guess your selfishness was just too much for the aliens, so they returned you to us!
Great shirt!!
February 26, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Erin
Missed you! Glad your safely back from our new overlords. :) The shirt looks great!
February 26, 2010 at 7:43 pm
CindyC
Aliens? Hmmph. Why do YOU get all the fun, anyway?
Your story reminds me of my son’s very first haiku, which he wrote in second grade:
The aliens came down.
They came over to greet me.
Then they ate my brain.
Good to see you back!
February 26, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Vicki
Welcome back! And doesn’t he look pleased…with his slurpee..oh and the shirt :)) And thank God the aliens let you do!
February 26, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Reethi
This is very unselfish of you, you know.
February 27, 2010 at 7:06 am
Melanie
Glad you’re back! Would love more details on the alien abduction, but I understand there may be security issues.
February 27, 2010 at 10:23 am
lin3arossa
Come on, you knwo we’ve missed you, mistress! I love the shirt. A skinny fit is in and I’m all for editing Dan to achieve that fit in this shirt, if you regularly publish pictures of him to report the progress, and also share your recipes.
February 27, 2010 at 2:10 pm
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[…] blouse, stripe matching I can’t help but notice that since I got back from my little abduction incident weird and inexplicable things have been happening. You know, suddenly all of my left shoes are too […]
February 28, 2010 at 12:32 am
juebejue
whew! you are back! did the alien bring you some delicious alien jerkies? (seriously the most delicious jerkies in california)… i hate it that my coworkers rarely notices my special outfits too! darn the engineers :P:P
February 28, 2010 at 8:58 am
audreyswardrobe
Ha! I’ve been wondering about your absence, but too lazy to leave a comment. (Not sure what is different today!)
Dan’s co-workers were clearly too intimidated by his stylistically and otherwise superior shirt to make a comment.
March 1, 2010 at 12:40 pm
amber
You’re back! Yay!
Awesome shirt for Dan!
March 1, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Rachel O.
I agree about his coworkers. They must have been born in a barn not to notice such a snazzy and beautiful shirt. It looks great on him. Good work!
March 2, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Meredith P
Generally, it’s great thing that people don’t say anything about outfits, particularly menswear. It’s so awesome, they would never think to ask.
I’m glad you’re back (in one piece, I assume?), regardless of the reason. I didn’t realize I have become addicted to your blog missives. Now to find a program…
March 13, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Ms. Selfish goes to Washington « The Selfish Seamstress
[…] expect to for at least the next week or so. (If you were wondering, the DC visit is unrelated to recent alien abduction events. Also, I’m not involved in a lawsuit- they haven’t caught up to me […]
March 17, 2010 at 11:05 am
Bruce
The shirt looks great! Where do you get shirting fabrics? When I look online, most of the colors and patterns don’t really match my taste.
March 17, 2010 at 11:37 am
selfishseamstress
I picked this up at my local Fabricland. Online I generally find that Denver Fabrics has good shirting fabrics- I usually search on “stretch poplin” or “stretch shirting.”
July 21, 2010 at 9:12 am
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[…] I would. As it is, I try to post at least a few times a week, but as you know life (and sometimes extraterrestrial life) gets in the way, or maybe there will come a time when I just don’t feel like writing or […]
August 8, 2010 at 7:59 am
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[…] and taffeta!) but not so much for the lightweight poplin shirting I’m using (leftover from Dan’s Valentine shirt and the still-unfinished Camicia […]
August 23, 2010 at 8:45 am
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[…] getting a ton of mileage out of the 3 meters of plum poplin that I bought several months ago- from Dan’s Valentine shirt to the Burda tux dress, and now Camicia No. 9. The Selfish Seamstress prides herself on her mad […]