“You need to be wearing more yellow,” stated the young woman upon handing me my Chakra portrait.
S A Y W H A T ?
I know what you’re thinking…
Handing me my WHAT portrait?
_____________________________
Last summer I attended a five-day writing workshop at the Omega Institute trying to learn how to get my book published. Omega is a fascinating retreat center in Rhinebeck, NY offering workshops to promote wellness and personal growth. I rode in on the airport shuttle with several people headed to Omega who were attending a workshop seeking to hone their intuitive abilities. I found this all rather intriguing, so during the week I signed up for a Chakra Portrait.
I knew very little about the Chakras but was excited to have my 7 energy levels assessed and illustrated…….
One hour and $120.00 later I received a little sketch of a flowerpot with a cascading bouquet drawn by the Medium during our pleasant chit-chat session. When I ask for an interpretation, the Medium told me I really needed to wear more yellow, but otherwise she thought my energies were balanced.
I just dreaded explaining this to my husband.
Over the next couple of days I showed my “portrait” to two of my new intuitive friends independently of one another .
“I feel like I was ripped off. What do you think about this drawing? Can you explain it?” I asked.
“Well, it looks to me like you need to wear more yellow,” replied friend #1, a man.
“You need more yellow in your life,” replied friend #2, a woman.
So here I am wearing yellow. I just finished these floral pants to go with the yellow t-shirt I picked up on the way home from Omega last July.
Besides the need for more yellow in my life, I was inspired to make these pants after seeing Elizabeth McKay’s new floral pants in the local Lily store. The Elizabeth McKay pants are silk, but my pants are made from Amy Butler’s Optic Blossom cotton fabric from the Midwest Modern collection and sewn from this Style Arc pants pattern.
The pattern is quite appealing with a good cut, nice flat front and side zipper more here.
I lined the pants with batiste and expect they will be great for the beach and the upcoming milder weather.
It’s said that the Yellow Chakra affects WISDOM, CLARITY and SELF-ESTEEM;
definitely a great color to wear when sewing!
By the way, as of today I’ve gone six months without buying any clothes.
Until soon!
Yellow is my favorite color. I can’t wear print pants like you but would love to. I have to go with black pants and yellow tops.
Thanks, Reecie! I’ve worn print pants all of my life and bet you could too. I think it just depends on the print. So far these are the only yellow garments I own! More to come I hope….
Sounds like a wonderful experience. And you do look so healthy and cheerful in yellow!
Thank you, Martha! Perhaps I need even more yellow clothes – these are the only ones I have as of now. I did buy some yellow silk in NYC in December but am not sure what to do with it.
Love the pants…and yellow! A happy color second only to my favorite…orange! If your chakras are balanced except for wearing more yellow you are in high cotton, girlfriend…
Thank you, Dorcas! I really like the pants too and recommend the Style Arc pattern if you’ve never tried it.
Who knows if my chakras are balanced…….. I was really hoping for a more detailed explanation………
And many thanks for vote of confidence in the Red Dress contest. I haven’t entered a contest in several decades!
P.S….I predict you win the Red Dress contest. I entered but never got motivated to make one.
Great pants and the print is lovely. Very good beach wear I agree – did you line to the knee? I really need to look into Style Arc.
Yellow is good too – I probably should wear more of most colours because it is so easy to just go black.
Many thanks for the comment! I recommend Style Arc here is my pattern review. The shipping is rather hefty since the patterns are shipped from Australia. I lined all the way down and secured the lining inside of the pants hem. Do you know since I started sewing in August I’ve only made one black piece of clothing! I was in the habit of buying so much black and am happy to be adding a variety of colors to my wardrobe.
Your complete outfit looks fantastic so perhaps they are right, however I think you look good in red too (was that also in your colours??).
Good luck in the contest I gave you a vote
Thank you, Pauline! I’m sure I’ll benefit from wearing yellow. There are 7 chakras each assigned to a color that represent energy levels. I believe my red energy was in check
I’ve always worn floral pants but most have pink and I loved the color combination of this fabric!
Thanks for the vote in the RD contest!!
Love the fabric and the outfit. Yellow is such a happy colour to wear, not just for sewing.
Thank you, Renata! This is the only yellow I own and will try to add more soon. I do have a piece of yellow silk waiting to be sewn… maybe it’s time!
The pants look great. I’m tempted to try out some Style Arc patterns.. Is the crotch curve similar to Burda pants patterns?
Hi Valerie, Good to hear from you! I’ve never sewn Burda pants so I can’t compare. I’m not the most articulate in descibing sewing patterns either, but the curve was slight in the front and much deeper in the back….. it worked for me! Here is my pattern review.
You look great in yellow! I have that same fabric from Amy Butler (LOVE HER). I never thought of making pants. What a good idea! PS I’m jealous of your daffodils! We have snow here again.
Thank you! I didn’t plan to make fitted pants with this fabric but I do love floral pants so I gave it a try. I too, love Amy Butler….. her fabrics……lifestyle…….composure…..books. She really did inspire me to sew again.
As for the daffodils and warm weather….. it’s all a tease for now
Oh, this as always is great on you, i always admire how you sew with a knowledge of your style and fit-not like my textile science projects!
Many thanks….. hope you had a great trip to Disneyworld!
You certainly have a flair for picking patterns and material. Great Look. A. Maggie
Thanks, Maggie! Do you ever visit the Pattern Review website? It’s a great way to see patterns made up AND read reviews before making them.
As for this pattern there wasn’t a review but I liked the way it looked and goodness knows, I’ve tried on my share of clothes over the years to have an idea of the finished product
I am thrilled to have found your blog via your review on PR. Great posts, and nice layout-I’ll be reading regularly.
Thank you so much for the nice comment! This latest period of sewing has been rewarding and great fun, especially due to blogging…… I never knew!
haha nice! The yellow is looking good
Good on ya for staying away from RTW. I’ve gone 3 years and 2 months without RTW (had a slide recently where I had to buy some clothes for job interviews-everything’s tailored and I don’t do that so well under pressure) but they’re all Australian-made so I justified it by the sweat-shop free essence of it all.
Many thanks – I’d say 3 years and 2 months without RTW justifies a slip
Hope the tailored RTW help you land the job you want!!
Wow, they look great! I’m tempted to try a Style Arc.. but I have so many other patterns unsewn that it’s tough to justify!
That Amy Butler print would make a really cute skirt too!
Thank you, Em! I was very, very pleased with the Style Arc pattern and really like the choice of pants styles! I thought about a skirt in the AB pattern but decided to try something different.
I am in love with these pants! What a great fit too. Your projects are always great.
Thank you , Jamye! It’s always a relief when they fit
Wow! You look great with the color yellow, you’re right … this is a beautiful color and full of joy, wonderful pants …
Many thanks, Rosy! I have always shied away from the primary colors but I’m finding that yellow, just like red is so perky! Who knows – maybe blue is next
I just found your blog and am completely hooked. Just spent the last 2 days “catching up” on everything so far. Thanks so much. I have 3 young boys but am inspired to do just a little bit of sewing every day
Thank you for the lovely comments, Nicola! It’s amazing what one can accomplish from doing just a little bit each day. I sewed for the children when they were young and then moved away from clothes. Now I think about how accomplished I would be if I had just kept working on my garment construction skills over the years. Many thanks again for writing
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Oh yes, the yellow is just amazing on you!
I guess the Chakra report was right
So now, with your inspiration, that I’ve done a skirt and a dress (and about to start a second skirt) I’m thinking I can move on to pants. Am I to understand that Style Arc patterns come with limited instructions? They look very simple with such clean lines but it seems that I’ve seen comments that suggest you better know what you are doing because the give very little direction.
Thanks as always for your generosity in replying and the inspiration you give.
Rita
Congratulations on making the skirt and dress! The first pair of pants I made (in 10 years) were a little shaky, but I found pants not to be too difficult to make.
The Style Arc pattern instructions are very basic and assume you know how to sew. The Elle and Linda patterns are so simple! The Leah Lounge pant is cut extremely well, has a side zipper and facing around the waist. I lined all three pairs of pants I made from this pattern, adding to the complexity. I recommend the Style Arc patterns to anyone who is comfortable with minimal instructions and few illustrations. Good luck and stay in touch!
Yellow, white and grey – one of favourite colour combinations, and a really lovely print too! I have an old pair of print pants in my sewing stash – in a green and white 50′s cotton sateen print of poppies – that turned out about two sizes too big the first time I made them (about a decade ago!), this post has inspired me to find them and turn them into a pair of cigarette pants!
Thank you so much – and I noticed Style Arc has a cigarette pants pattern available!
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