My Secret Identity and A Reason--No, Two Reasons to Blog

Followers of this blog are no doubt already tired of my search for appropriate old-lady bicycling clothing. Here is the get up I wore to cycle around town yesterday (note superhero pose: when not filling the world with lawyers I fight crime on my bicycle):



The tunic is Simplicity 3506, sort of,



and the leggings are McCall's 6360.



Both are made of Dry Flex Knit, described by FabricMart as

90% Hi Wick Polyester/10% Lycra
Dry flex - high performance knit
Antibacterial finish
Moisture wicking
4-way stretch

The tunic is "sort of" Simplicity 3506 because that pattern has a small yoke at the front shoulder which is entirely missing from my version. And here's reason number 1 to blog: I cannot for the life of me remember where that yoke went. And I only made the thing a couple of months ago. It is pretty clear that after constructing the dress I needed to raise the neckline and the armscyes so much that the pinched-out portion swallowed the whole yoke. But could I have left myself a note? A little mark on the pattern piece to show what I did so I could do it again? A blog post with a picture or two? What was I thinking?

Most likely I was thinking that the modification I was making would not work and that I was this close to throwing the whole thing in a scrap bag, so why take pictures? But in fact, this became my favorite cycling dress, when it was a dress, so the other day I shortened it to tunic length and now it no longer gets caught on the seat when I dismount (or try to).

The leggings are a revelation! SO EASY! They are actually a bit too large, because when I am cutting any garment I figure only the very largest size will get around my magnificent rump. But SO EASY! I used Melissa Fehr's tutorial to put elastic in the waist and it worked beautifully! And I haven't done it yet, but the plan is to install a cycling chamois that I got from AeroTech Designs Cycling in a pair of leggings to make real cycling pants. If this works, it will be worth doing, because cycling wear is expensive, it almost never comes in a large enough size for a woman of substance, and it is even harder to find cycling pants that cover the knees. My knees have taken a great beating over the years should be heard but not seen.

And the second reason to blog? I forget what I was thinking when I wrote the title. Obviously I don't blog to share my extensive knowledge of sewing because my sewing is largely driven by bad fabric choices (the Dry Flex knit is an exception--it is very suitable for the purpose) and foolish shortcuts. I guess the second reason is just because I am lonely.

Update: Oh, I remember what I was thinking! A second reason to blog is to enjoy checking my stat counter! I never get very many hits (although every one is precious to me) but I am enchanted by the idea that someone whose ISP is in Toowoomba or Dublin or Rouen or Vevey or Chicago has stopped by my blog. Enchanted!