Sew Chaotically! - Grainline Studio's Alder Shirtdress (no ruffle but with Mandarin collar!)

I'm sure you remember my first Alder Shirtdress!!!

AND my excitement for my fabrics purchased from Miawa

Now I've finished the second one!!!  Again with a perfect fit...using my usual size 8 per Grainline sizing.  Simply cutting it to the longest length, rather than splicing in additional length at the appropriate line 'within' the pattern.  (Hey, it worked once....just rollin' wid it!!!)  Planned all along to make this one in the simpler version (though it left me making the more difficult one, due to the bum ruffle, first) because I thought the print would work better this way.  Applied a "Mandarin" collar (a variation Grainline discusses in their sew-along) by just using the collar stand.  And here it is:

Had to meditate a bit on what part of the fabric to use in the button band!  I think my final decision worked out pretty well.

Yes, my friends this one has a yoke at the upper back as well.  I know, I know...such matching!!!  Hee, hee!!!

Loved the variegated buttons, also from Maiwa....they worked with the fabric perfectly!!!

I REALLY like this pattern!  It sews up very easily.  The guts are completely finished since I flat felled the side seams.  I can see this version melding easily into fall with blue or brown tights and a jacket or sweater.  These are probably all the Alder's I'll make this year...but come spring.....  Hmmmm.....  Sew chaotically! - c

Man's best friend! A melanoma screening tool???

A screening test I can really get behind!!!

Dogs'olfactory diagnostics applied on human species: state of the art and clinical perspectives.  Clin Ter. 2016 Jul-Aug.  Palmieri, Nardo, Lippi, et al. 

Dogs' smell ability is about 10000-100000 more developed than humans' one. Dogs smell is usually exploited in forensic medicine, to find missing people and specific substances showing peculiar sensorial features. In clinic, there is the possibility to take advantage of dogs smell, which are conveniently trained, for the screening of cancers and other diseases. The common feature is the presence of molecules in organic samples that may be considered as biomarkers of a specific pathology. In cancer, scientific evidences exist about screening of melanoma, lung, breast, rectum, ovarian, prostate and bladder cancer. Instead, other pathologies manifest the presence of organic volatile compounds in biologic materials, such as spit, feces and urine that may be studied by dogs smell in order to identify the presence of a specific disease. This review shows the state of the art of actual dogs' olfactory ability based on scientific principles and the advantages and the disadvantages of this method. The authors also reveal some potential pathologies joined by the presence of organic volatile compounds, which may be investigated by dogs smell.

The Karm!!

Ruff Ruff....from day 1!

Zeno!!!

 Gotta love the pups!!!  Would that it could be this easy! - c

Sew Chaotically! - Grainline Studio Alder Shirtdress - with bum ruffle!!!

The same ladies who brought us the Morris blazer, designed this cute little dress (with or without the bum ruffle).  It is awesome!!!  I picked my same size 8 that I used in the blazer per my measurements.  Perfect!  You do have to remember to use 1/2 inch (rather than the more typical 5/8ths) seam allowance.  It goes together easy as pie.  Yes, you really do cut out the two front pieces, then whack a bit more off one of the pieces to allow for the button band.  She did a nifty little trick on either side of the collar that didn't really work for me....though others have been happy with it.  After some un-picking, I just sewed the last step of my inner collar the old fashioned way.  There is a sew-along that you can use and I found helpful.  It is divided into steps, but they are like blog posts with photos, so you may work through them as quickly or slowly as you like.  Here is a link to the first one:  Alder sew-along: Day 1 - fabric and supplies

Now for the fabulous fabric!!  Remember when I mentioned shopping for fabric at Maiwa in Vancouver at the Granville Market?  Here's the post:  Travel Chaotically! - Sky Scrapers  They do some pretty cool stuff!  Here's a link to their site:  Maiwa.com   As I mentioned in the post, the shop is more geared to printing and dyeing fabric than being a fabric shop per se.  But, a small selection of fabrics were already complete. Here's what I got:

  
The blue piece was dyed using actual indigo and then (as best as I can tell) block printed with the dots...which causes the bit of variation in size, shape, line-up that you can see (as well as color within the piece) and of which I am quite fond!

I just LOVE this dress!!!  It is probably more ME than anything I have made!!! As ever, chaotically precise....I always fall for classic designs....with a twist!

I made no alterations.  I cut the size 8 in all pieces, except I cut the hem using the longest length printed.  I may have broken some dastardly rule by doing this and I'm sure with some shapes and patterns it would be better to add length at the line noted "withIN" the pattern pieces, but with this shape and knowing that the bum ruffle was hitting where I wanted it...I figured it would work out....and I think it did!!!

Yes, I am ridiculously proud of that collar and button band!!!

You do a technique similar to the Morris Blazer collar application when you add the bum ruffle!  But it works out really well.

I flat felled the side seams and finished the ruffle on my serger.  NO UGLY INSIDES!!!

Cause BLUE....is a thing!!!

Seriously!!!

 

Sew and sing and twirl....chaotically!!!   I'm Blue Da Ba Dee Daba da   c

A look at effect of routine meds used by patients when on ipi....

Effects of commonly used chronic medications on the outcomes of ipilimumab therapy in patients with metastatic melanoma.  Failing, Finnes, Kottschade, et al.  Melanoma Res. 2016 Sep.

Ipilimumab can induce long-term survival in 20% of patients with metastatic melanoma. Concurrent chronic medications may impact the patient's immune system, possess antimelanoma properties, and potentially affect clinical outcomes. This retrospective study sought to describe the efficacy and toxicity effects of 12 classes of chronic medications in metastatic melanoma patients treated with ipilimumab. A total of 159 adults who received ipilimumab for metastatic melanoma at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota, USA) from 1 March 2011 through 31 December 2014 were included. Classes of chronic medications included statins, metformin, β-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin-receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers, aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, H1 and H2 receptor antagonists, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), antidepressants, and vitamin D supplements. Of the 12 medication classes, only PPIs were found to have an increased odds of experiencing a partial response or a complete response to ipilimumab on the basis of a case-control analysis. Although not significant, PPI use also trended toward improved overall survival and progression-free survival on the basis of Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazard modeling. No medication class was associated with an increased risk of grades 3-5 immune-related adverse events with ipilimumab on the basis of case-control analysis. In summary, patients on PPIs may be more likely to experience a partial response/complete response following ipilimumab therapy. Because of the small sample size and the retrospective nature of this work, these findings are only descriptive and further study should be carried out. Other classes of chronic medications did not produce statistically significant effects for any of the measured outcomes.

PPI's anyone????  Well, before you get too excited...  PPI's are protein pump inhibitors.  They decrease acid in the stomach and were the 9th most commonly prescribed drugs in 2015.  They include the drugs nexium, prilosec, and prevacid (along with some others).  By decreasing stomach acid, these drugs also decrease the ability of the body to absorb some vitamins and minerals, and kill bad bacteria, leading to untoward effects.  These drugs already carry warnings for several known risks, including C. difficile infections and chronic diarrhea, pneumonia, low magnesium levels (which can contribute to heart problems, muscle spasms, seizures and fractures).  Recent studies have also connected them with an increased risk for chronic kidney disease and dementia.  Hmmm....  What to do?  While the intel in the study above is interesting...we might best wait and see how all this plays out. 

Poor ratties. - c

Thinking of you, Joshie!

With all fingers and toes crossed! Love you. C

Sew Chaotically! - Me-mades on vacay!!!

This little linen shift proved to be a great travel dress.  This pic is AFTER a van ride to Atlanta, flight into Chicago, and a train ride after that!!  Blogged about here: New Look 0926

My red Morris Blazer was a cute and comfy workhorse of this trip.  It went with EVERYTHING!!! This little skirt worked almost as hard!  Blogged about here: 30 minute skirt from So Sew Easy   And here: Red Morris Blazer

When I needed it I even wore it with this crazy skirt!  Blogged here:  Vogue 9166

Ready to de-train in Seattle wearing, yes...the Morris Blazer and me-made top:  McCall's 7093

Window shopping in Vancouver in my "Mother's Day Material Dress". It is pretty and pretty impervious to packing wrinkles!  Simplicity 8125

Shopping for more fabric treasures in Vancouver at Maiwa wearing a dress I made in 2014.  Goes to show the wearability of cotton/poly after almost 2 weeks in a suitcase!!!  New Look 0926

I was pleased to consider my 'me-mades' awesome enough to wear on vacation.  It was pretty cool to see how well the things I liked (both in style and fabric) worked with each other.  Sew and travel chaotically!!! - c

New Rules to push for published trial results!

I have ranted here many times about the sad number of trial results that are actually published, despite the fact that since 2007, scientists have been REQUIRED to publish results on Clinicaltrials.gov.  Most recently here:  http://chaoticallypreciselifeloveandmelanoma.blogspot.com/2016/08/medical-studies-in-children-go.html 

New rules were published Friday that cover all the trials types whose results most be published - including behavioral studies as well as any that have NIH funding (That's tax payer dollars, y'all!) AND... researchers must publish the good, the bad, and the UGLY! Even if the drug doesn't cut it for treating folks...they have to admit that! To me that information is just as important as data showing drugs that are successful...and should be even more valuable to scientists!   Additionally, researchers have to say how they are going to use their data from the start. No more massaging the data after the fact just to have something to say. And perhaps most importantly, when studies are regulated by the FDA, companies can face fines of up to $10,000 per DAY, if they fail to comply! (Not that this is a new ruling...but the NIH reports that it will start enforcing these fines if needed!)

Ratties give their lives for the information clinical trials provide. To say...It's about time!...is an understatement!

Here's a link to the NPR story:  http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/16/494231378/hhs-issues-new-rules-to-open-up-data-from-clinical-trials

Hang on ratties! Clinical trials are still a wild ride! - c

Long-lasting complete responses in melanoma patients after TIL therapy

Here are a couple of previous posts on TIL:

From April:  TILs (tumor infiltrating lymphocytes) - advancing as melanoma immunotherapy and new trial 

From May: TIL - Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (a bit of a primer)

This was published in March:

Long-lasting complete responses in patients with metastatic melanoma after adoptive cell therapy with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and an attenuated IL-2 regimen.  Andersen, Donia, Ellebæk, et al.  Clin Cancer Res. 2016 Mar 22.

Adoptive cell transfer therapy (ACT) based on autologous tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) has achieved impressive clinical results in several phase I and II trials performed outside of Europe. Although transient, the toxicities associated with high-dose (HD) bolus interleukin-2 (IL-2) classically administered together with TILs are severe. To further scrutinize whether similar results can be achieved with lower doses of IL-2, we have carried out a phase I/II trial of TIL transfer after classical lymphodepleting chemotherapy followed by an attenuated IL-2 regimen.

25 patients with progressive treatment-refractory metastatic melanoma, good clinical performance, age < 70 and at least one resectable metastasis were eligible. TIL infusion was preceded by standard lymphodepleting chemotherapy and followed by attenuated doses of IL-2 administered in an intravenous, continuous decrescendo regimen (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:NCT00937625).

Classical IL-2 related toxicities were observed but patients were manageable in a general oncology ward without the need for intervention from the intensive care unit. RECIST 1.0 evaluation displayed three complete responses and seven partial responses (ORR 42%). Median overall survival was 21.8 months. Tumor regression was associated with a higher absolute number of infused tumor reactive T cells. Moreover, induction and persistence of anti-melanoma T cell responses in the peripheral blood was strongly correlated to clinical response to treatment. TIL-ACT with a reduced IL-2 decrescendo regimen results in long-lasting complete responses in patients with treatment-refractory melanoma. Larger randomized trials are needed to elucidate whether clinical efficacy is comparable to TIL-ACT followed by HD bolus IL-2.

Basically, this study looked at doing pretty much the old-fashioned version of TIL:  Harvest cells from a tumor, grow cells, give old-time chemo to deplete the patient's existing t cells, infuse t cells that have been grown, then follow with IL-2 as usual...BUT in this case - with a decreasing dose in hopes of retaining the benefit and minimizing the suffering IL-2 can produce. Of 25 patients, there were 3 complete response and 7 partial ones.  Median overall survival was almost 22 months.  Not surprisingly, tumor regression and clinical responses were related to the greater number of t cells infused and the persistence of the anti-melanoma t cell responses in the patient's blood.

For what it's worth. - c

Travel Chaotically!!! - B's view of recent trip!

Checking out Chicago on the train ride in from the airport!

Our only rain as we walked about in Chicago after getting in!

Dang!!!  These boys relish some dogs!!!!

Corner Bakery coffee!!!

Kale, pig ear and egg at The Purple Pig!  YUM!

Pretty parks.

The Bean as a fun house mirror!

Now there's a photo op!!!

Inside Union Station

I told you we had a pretty sunset!

And an itty bitty living space!!  Check out B's upper bunk!!!  Hee hee!

Heading to Glacier!

Trail of Cedars.

Hidden Lake Trail at Logan's Pass

Back to the train again!!

Oysters, an incredible mignonette, and vodka at The Blue Water Cafe in Vancouver.

Selfie on water taxi.

Fabric!!!!

Delicious calamari at the Sylvia in Vancouver.

Ferry to Victoria.

B's haul at Red Fish Blue Fish!!  Yep!  We ate it all!!!

Victoria's China Town

Waiting on more fish!!!  I am an excellent eater!  SKILLZ!

Crazy Canadians (You got some 'splainin to do, Ed!!!) thinking it's summer camping season in Victoria!

It was such a fun trip.  Thanks for playing, B!  love, c