Return of Pants

Belt loops: done. Hook and eye: done. I was going to make a joke here about R.O.U.S.'s and the Three Terrors of the Fire Swamp or something, I don't know, it just didn't pan out.

Pants are such an amazingly awful pain in the ass, but seeing them all made up and reasonably well-fitting is pretty satisfying, I guess. I've taken the slow way through finishing the inside seams; I'd never cut a waistband with this method before, so I made the self-facing a bit too short in places and had to either cover it with some hem lace (inspired by Gertie's ingenious cuff fix):

or do a sort of rough double-overcast stitch to keep the edges together (ugly and impossible to photograph clearly, so just be glad I didn't post a picture).

Most of this doesn't even show from the inside of the garment--it's hidden where the waistband laps over--but by this point the pants were beginning to look so much like real clothes that I couldn't bear to leave it raw. I feel very protective towards my finished projects, like a mother towards her tender, impressionable, rapidly fraying children.

Somebody on the internet (if it was you, let me know so I can credit you) once said that the fiddly handwork goes much faster when they think of it as "couturier details." It does feel special to know that even the invisible bits of your clothes have been lovingly constructed. And I do feel sort of badass--jabbing myself with pins and swearing a blue streak at the fabric, just like a real professional! I like to watch familiar old TV while I do handwork, too, so I'll admit I look forward to it. I've found that these two shows are perfect for hand sewing:

- QI, because I've seen most of the episodes already, and in any case you don't have to look at the screen much since it's all talking. That's the joy of panel shows. And I always learn something new! Or laugh. Or both.

- Doctor Who, because I've seen all of the episodes (of the new series) and can recite bits of most of them--so I know what's happening onscreen whether I can look up at the moment or not.

I'll get some more photos up in a bit. Consider this a sneak preview. Of trousers. I don't know, I'm tired. Pretend there's a good Princess Bride joke here.

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One more thing I made recently--the Angus Barn Chocolate Chess Pie, from the eponymous cookbook:

It's almost too much. Doesn't look like much filling, right? I panicked at the last minute and threw in an extra egg and quarter cup of butter because I had a half inch layer of pie in this cavernous deep-dish pan, but now I realize that the filling is so intense, you can't eat more than half an inch at a time. It's sadist's pie: the first bite is amazing, the second satisfying, the third makes you want to throw up. I'm staring at a half-eaten slice right now and trying to summon the courage to take another bite. Hold me, Internet. I'm frightened.