Why You Need to Focus... or At Least Why I Do!

Several months back I posted a picture of a quilt top that is in process for my DD.  It's a lovely mix of blues and browns with a center of Friendship Stars and borders of strip blocks.  It needed to be enlarged just a little so there will be about a 10" drop on their queen sized bed.

I decided to cut down the floral border and make some more stars, but smaller ones this time.  I got out the bin of fabrics I used for the top and cut a bunch of 2 1/2" squares, made a bunch of half square triangles, and kitted them up to go into production.

I put them into a plastic bin, in the order they should be sewn in.  After I made about a dozen stars I had to stop for the night, so I put the bin aside.

Fast forward two weeks.  I've got a head cold so I decided that I was too tired to work on anything that required brain power, but I figured I could finish up those borders.

Sitting down at the sewing machine, I was surprised to find the bin had been jostled!  Must have moved it around, or maybe Miss A was looking for something...

Laid things out and started sewing.  Got the last bunch sewn up and took them over to the ironing board.

Uh oh....

What should have been this:

was actually this:

So I turned them into this:

Now I am covered with tiny little bits of white thread, but they're all put back together the right way this time.

Note to self:  Mindless sewing really isn't.

Sew on!

In the Way, or Way Out There

Sewing is restful, relaxing, makes your mind unwind and gets the kinks out.  I always think of my sewing room as my own space, where my brain can turn off, or turn on, as the need arises.

This past weekend I was supposed to go to my church quilt group on Sunday afternoon, then I figured I'd spend some time in my own sewing room, catching up on the Barrister's Block Sow Along or finishing up the last border on my DD's quilt.

Sadly, neither thing happened.  Sometimes life gets in the way! 

I've been having tummy issues lately.  I know I should be doing a low-fat diet anyway (yes, I could stand to lose more than a pound and a half!) but recently anything remotely resembling greasy just sends me flying to the you-know-where.  I know, TOO MUCH INFORMATION!

So I'm really trying to be good.  One result of this is that sometimes I miss things I really want to do.  One other result is that I've lost seven pounds.  But I went for an ultrasound this week so maybe it's time to find out what it is, and how to fix it. 

So while I was missing my sewing experience, I took a little nap on the couch, rested up for some other events this week, and did some creative thinking.  Yeah, thinking about being creative, instead of actually doing it.

The last think I thought about was a quilt top of the night sky.  I have a tub of blue quilt fabrics.  I learned to make wonky stars one weekend, so how about some wonky stars in a dark blue background?  Way out there?  Sort of like the Milky Way.

No!  Not that one!  The OTHER Milky Way!  The one that's WAY OUT THERE!

Oh boy.  I think all that napping made me delusional.  Time to get to work on some actual sewing.

Tonight I shortened the sleeves and the body of a red slinky cardigan that came from Coldwater Creek.  Originally.  I picked it up at Goodwill for about $3.  The sleeves were about 4 inches too long, not unusual for me.  But the body was very long too.  Not like a duster, that would have made sense, but just too long for a person whose total height does not exceed 62 inches.  So now it feels better, more proportional.

I'm wearing it tomorrow with a white tee and some lovely navy pants.  Not too out there... a totally normal and expected color scheme.

Maybe I can get down to the sewing room again tomorrow, and actually work on a project.  I'm behind on the Phone Guy's Wife blocks.  I have sewn on them since I last posted, but I'm darned if I can find where I saved the last batch of pictures!

Maybe the tummy issues have affected the brain cells too...

Sew on.

Shoes

I need to buy some new shoes.

OK, what woman in the history of the species has not had that thought around, oh, 50 or so times a year?  Most of us love shoes.

Dorothy wouldn't give up her ruby slippers for anything, causing the Wicked Witch of the West to chase her and in the end wind up melted.

I never was one for high heels (these look like ankle breakers!) and probably went for a 2 to 2 1/4 inch heel at the best of times, except for one prom where I wore mint green shoes to match a formal, and nearly gave up life on the walk from the parking lot to the ballroom... but that was when I was much younger!

About 15 years ago I tripped over a sleeping dog and broke a toe on my left foot.  Fast forward to about three years ago and I developed Morton's Neuroma in that foot.  The podiatrist says it might be from the foot injury.  So now I have this uncooperative foot that refuses to be comfortable in anything but a flat.

That's OK, there are plenty of cute flats, right?  I've been buying a shoe called Audrey from Zappos.com for a couple of years.  Very basic, pump with round toes and about a 1/2 inch heel, comes in a  lot of colors.  I had navy, cream, red, black, teal and yellow over the years.  The only problem is that the sole is so thin I can feel the cracks in the sidewalk through them.

I picked up two pairs of sandals that were fine when I first bought them, but for some odd reason the straps across the back don't stay on my heels anymore.  I walk a few feet and they flop down.  This pulls down on the backs of my slacks and annoys me.

Maybe I can start a new trend in office wear...

Birthday Wishes

One of the things that I've always tried to do is to call my children on the morning of their birthday to say happy birthday and I love you.

My mom didn't make a big fuss about birthdays when I was a kid.  I came from a big family and we didn't have a lot of money to spend on parties and presents.  Mom would bake a cake and put candles in it and we'd sing the happy birthday song to the birthday boy or girl.  Some of us had birthdays that were very close, so we might have to share.  My brother D's birthday is six days after mine, T and C are two days apart in September, and my brother K and sister are three days apart in November.

The November birthdays always had a candle in pumpkin pie.  K says he didn't have a birthday cake until he was in high school.

My best kid birthday was when I was 16.  My mom invited my boyfriend to come over after school, and he joined us for a cake I didn't have to share with D.  It was very sweet.

My worst birthday was when I was six.  My uncle gave me a pair of roller skates and I fell in the driveway and skinned up my knees.  The skates had plastic wheels, the driveway was lumpy and cracked, and get this people:  I AM NO ATHLETE!!  I didn't master skates until the age of 15.

My son is having a milestone birthday.  It's the big

...which is really strange because I am only 39 myself!  Ha ha, you know I got married when I was just an infant.  And if you believe that one, I have a bridge you may be interested in buying. 

Once when we were getting a quote for some insurance, the salesman asked my husband if the kids were from his first marriage.  Oh boy, THAT did not go over well.  No sale that night! 

So sonny boy was born at 8:38 a.m.  I usually call him around that time and ask if he remembers what we were doing all those years ago.  That's always good for a chuckle.

Now my daughter was born at 3:22 a.m.  I wait to call her later in the morning because believe me, neither of us would want to go there for that 'actual time' phone call! 

So dear son, love you lots.  Happy birthday.  You turned out OK.  I'm proud of you. 

And don't forget to eat some

Remembering 9-11

Eleven years ago today I got on a small airplane and flew to Indianapolis, Indiana, for a one-day training session with the employees in our office there.

I arrived at 7:15 local time and picked up a rental car.  While driving to the office I heard the announcement of a strange incident, not much known but there were rumors that an airplane, as yet unidentified, had crashed into the tower at the World Trade Center in New York City.

If you are more than six years old you know something about that day.  It's been replayed on TV and in the movies and in newspapers and magazines.

That day in Indiana it didn't seem real at first.  People watched events unfold in the conference room over a lunch that was brought in so we wouldn't have to leave.  After lunch, people drifted out to go home to their families.  Businesses closed.  Gas stations were suddenly raising prices and faced with long lines of cars needing fill-ups.

I couldn't fly home, so I went to Target to get toiletries and an outfit for the next day.  I hadn't planned to stay so I didn't even have a toothbrush, and I never carry makeup in my purse!  Target had about 11 customers, all of us wandering around looking for the toothbrushes.

Grabbing a hotel room, I called the travel agency to extend the car.  It's a five hour drive back home from there so I wasn't stranded.  The travel agent said not to worry, nobody was expecting any car rentals to be turned back in that day and they would waive the normal penalty for returning the car to a different spot than the pickup.

Our company president sent an email saying the firm would reimburse us for any reasonable costs to stay safe and travel home by whatever means.

The airport was spooky when I returned the rental and picked up my car.  Soldiers with dogs roamed the aisle, and I encountered a very frantic woman who needed to drive from Wisconsin to California and was not happy about it.

I never thought about air travel the same way again.  I am ever thankful for TSA and anyone else who does the screening.  I try never to complain about the scanners and the security lines.  I would much rather stand in line and be scanned that to be blown up or crash!!

We take our way of life for granted.  We assume because we think we're the greatest nation in the world, so does everyone else. 

Every time I hear a rant about sending jobs overseas or importing goods or "buy American" I wonder why we can't do with just a little less so other people in the world can have a little more.  There's no excuse for terrorism, but I can totally understand how those who have nothing can be so angry that they hate those who have more than they do.

Am I my brother's keeper?  Christians believe we are... I think that means that we have a responsibility to care for the poor, give to legitimate charities, show our living faith by our works.  I hope I can live that out in some small way.  I often sew for charity projects and hope that each item I send out carries with it the love I put into making it.

I'm glad to be alive to write this.  I'm happy you are alive to read this.  Life can be gone in an instant.  Do good while you're here.

Sew on!

Stash Busting! Quilters Organize!

Hey, have you seen this in blogland?  Stash Busting is an actual initiative among quilters who want to work through more than they buy.  Who knew?  Not me, well not at first.

Used since last report:                   0.00  yards
Used year to Date:                       xxx yards

Added since last report:                 2.875 yards
Added Year to Date:                   xxx yards

Net Used for 2012:                        XX yards

I went out to visit a couple of my favorite blogs and saw these wonderful reports... hey I need to get on this.  It's too late to count 2012, unless I declare a Fiscal Year beginning Sept. 1, but maybe I should get started!  I have added a page to this blog called Stash Busting.  I'll see if it helps.

I also noticed that people title days, and blog a specific thing on a specific day, like Design Wall Day or Linky Day or UFO challenges.  Hmmm... that one sounds like it's for me!



UFO Number one million or so...  LOL!

Maybe we garment sewist should organize a UFO challenge.  Well, I guess I'd better check on what's going on at ASG, I'm sure I can find someone doing something onto which I should get on board.

Keep on sewing!

Reflections on the Day

I'm enjoying a little peace and quiet after an afternoon full of grandchildren.  The three smaller ones are 4,5, and 6 years old, and generally speaking they get along and play well together.  Two of them stayed overnight while their parents enjoyed a night out.  The other two live next door.

Miss E was a little put out that she couldn't stay over too, but the three of them together and none of us would have gotten any sleep!

I was thinking about when I was small.  I was telling Miss K about having five brothers who picked on me and made my life miserable sometimes.  This was after her little brother did something, or maybe she was telling me about something he did last week.

My brothers are all younger than I am.  When we were small we were grubby, snotty nosed little kids who fought and played and never sat still.  When we would fight our mom would make us sit together in a chair, and give each other a hug.  This would generally provoke some poking and pushing which turned into laughing, and you can't be mad at someone with whom you are laughing.  Trying to avoid hugging would be so funny we'd forget about being mad.

These are the dearest people to me... next to my own kids and grandkids they are the people I would give a kidney to, or send my last dollar if it would help them. 

I found out that one of my youngest brothers has an incurable disease that has no treatments, and has had it for seven years. We live half a continent apart, and my brothers are all from the John Wayne school of keep-your-weaknesses-to-yourself. It's devastating to find out that a sibling has something from which they will not recover. What do you do? I'm offering it up, as they say. Tell your troubles to Jesus. Well, Lord, this is a big one!

As I was waiting for the grands to go to sleep, and they were wiggling and giggling and generally NOT going to sleep, I was thinking what a nice day it had been with them.  I don't like to send kids to be hungry.  Or crying.  But they were in need of a little incentive to drop off, so I went in a fourth time and administered a stern warning.  Five minutes later there was only the sound of gentle breathing from their room.

Thank God for every day I get to spend with them. I thank Him also for my fairly decent health, and the fact that I am still employed and that the family is nearby.  I thank Him for the gift of brothers and sisters and cousins and in-laws and other family.  I thank Him that he has ALL of my brothers in his hands... and that He keeps us there.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  Sometimes what does kill you does the same.  None of us gets out of this world alive, but none of us is ready to go right now.  But like Tim McGraw sings, we should all live like we were dying.  Because we are.

Some days there is great happiness, and great sadness, all at the same time.

Good night, wherever you are.  Don't forget to say "I love you".

Use Your Imagination!!

How much fun can you have with the stuff that's left over when you unpack a box from the UPS man??

Depends on what kind of material it is, I guess... I recently received a box of zippers and thread that I ordered from a place called WAWAK (that's another post, but trust me it was a great experience!) and the box came packed with some cool brown paper with perforations every 18 inches or so.

The day it came, Miss A was visiting and "doing craft stuff".  We opened the box and I naturally started to unfold and smooth out the paper.  At first she was disappointed that there was no bubble wrap.  Popping the bubble wrap is in the union rules for five year olds.

After I smoothed out the paper, she asked if she could have some.  Pulled into sections it suggested to her that it could be colored on, and turned into a mask and wings.

We had to find some 'string' in my yarn basket to tie the mask on, and it took two tries and some assistance from Gramma to get the eye holes right, but she flew around the living room for about half an hour.

Totally worth the effort!!

Thanks, WAWAK.  Get your own supply of paper at www.wawak.com and check out their on-line catalog of good stuff.

Keep on Sewing!

September is National Sewing Month

On September 21, 1982, at the request of the American Home Sewing & Craft Association, an industry and trade association supporting the sewing and craft industries, President Ronald Reagan, under Proclamation #4976, declared September as National Sewing Month “In recognition of the importance of home sewing to our Nation.”

He subsequently proclaimed the same thing in 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1988.  We don't need more proclamations to tell us that September is the perfect time to sew.  Just like January and April and all the other months of the year! 

Still, celebrating sewing is a good thing.  Studies have proven that sewing is relaxing, therapeutic and good for the soul. 


The web site http://www.nationalsewingmonth.org/ is a great place to check out the celebration.  There is a contest you can enter, and free promotional materials if you're a shop owner or business.  You can also find them on Facebook.

2012's theme is Sew For the Fun of it! An ancient art made new.

The sewing machine itself is only about 160 to 175 years old, but boy has it made progress in the last couple of decades!  I remember my first sewing machine -- the first one I owned, that is.  It was purchased used from a store where I worked part time.  Some lucky woman traded up and I got her old one.  It had cams for different stitches, and the button hole maker was a giant machine that clamped on the shank and required at least two changes to the throat plate.

This is the closest I could find to what I remember... way back then!!

Nowadays machines have so many bells and whistles you really need the free lessons they give when you buy from a good dealer.

I learned to sew on my grandmother's treadle machine.  I think she thought she was amusing me, keeping me occupied.  Little did either of us know how big a part sewing would play in my life!

So back to National Sewing Month... here are the S&C Alliance's suggestions for you:

• Teach a family member or friend to sew.
• Volunteer your time and teach sewing to a local youth organization like Girl Scouts and 4-H Clubs.
• Make it possible for someone to learn how to sew. Give employees time off work so they can volunteer their time; or donate fabrics, equipment, and sewing supplies. 
• Sew more often. If you haven't been sewing lately, find out what's new in the sewing world at a local fabric or sewing machine store. 
• Join your local chapter of the American Sewing Guild at www.asg.org and participate in its activities. 
• Register for a class at a local fabric store or sewing machine dealership and take a friend. 
• Contact your local public television station and make a contribution that supports sewing programs. 
• Create your own sewing circle of friends; it’s fun to sew with others!

Sew on!

Are You A Reader? Or Book TV Viewer?

I love to read, and I love to read good, old fashioned paper books!  I buy books all the time, both new and used.  I've been known to read an entire book in a weekend, or to stay up until the wee hours on a weeknight to finish one I cannot put down.

And don't even get me started on books about sewing and knitting and crafting!  I never met a bookstore or in-the-lobby book sale that I didn't like.  Like the one in our lobby last week Thursday, where I picked up a copy of J.A. Jance's Fatal Error.  I started reading it at lunchtime and finished it up on Friday evening.  It was a page-turner!!

This weekend, while I was knitting a scarf for Miss E, I watched some Book TV on CSpan 2 on cable TV.  For those of you who have never watched, it's normally 48 hours of discussions, lectures, reviews and more about non-fiction books that runs on the network that usually carried live coverage of the US Government during the week.  Yeah, boring but true, Congress has its own network.

On holiday weekends, it will be 72 hours, beginning on Saturday morning at 6 a.m.  I tuned in this weekend.  They were interviewing one of the librarians from the Library of Congress about an exhibit at the library of Books That Shaped America.  And if you don't happen to be in Washington D.C., you can check it out at the LOC website at www.loc.gov/bookfest .

Off I toddled to check out the entire list.  The librarian had talked about a few of them, and why they were chosen.  Somehow I thought there would be more, but there were only 88 books.  But what a bunch of great books!  I discovered that I have heard of most of them, and I have read 28 of them.  Books like Catch-22 and Beloved and Goodnight Moon.

There is a wonderful interactive list that can be sorted by book, author or year, and if you click on the book title it will tell you why the book was selected.  For example, the book Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (maybe you saw the movie) was a satirical treatment of military bureaucracy that made the title a catch phrase for the eternal do-loop. 

If you're interested in books of all kinds, there is a Festival Of The Book coming in to the National Mall in Washington D.C. on September 22-23.  I bet it will be televised on Book TV.

Google book festivals, I'll bet there's one near you!

Sew on!

A Question of Taste, or Not??

My boss knows I sew.  He takes a rather perverse pleasure in telling people about it when I am trying to be a serious business professional, like it's a secret granny thing or something.  BUT he is not above bragging a little too, when someone compliments something I'm wearing and he knows it's something I've made.

His mother sewed garments and quilts, and he has a cousin who is a successful designer and retailer, so I know he values the talent.  And he's not above asking me to do the occasional project and paying good money to get it done, so I cut him a little slack on the teasing.

However, once in a while I question the guy's taste!

Normally he's a rather serious and dignified guy with a dry sense of humor.  But once in a while he surprises me.  He asked if I would know how to take a design someone drew and turn it into an embroidery for a shirt.  His family was having a sports tournament, himself and his sons against his brother and HIS sons, and one of the guys had designed a 'logo'. 

I use the term loosely because what was designed could hardly be used as a logo in any modern business.  It was based on the shape of a liquor bottle that had been manufactured in the 1950s, and today would be completely politically incorrect, to coin a term by Bill Maher.

Having purchased some digitizing software, I knew I could do it, but you know, I have rules... like I do not sew on ugly fabric, and I don't do anything in a shoddy manner.  If I can't do something well, I do not do it at all.  OK, yes, type A personality trait.  Guilty as charged!

So when he showed me the logo, and asked me to sew it on a dozen shirts, I had qualms.  BUT and this is a big BUT, the shirts included men's and women's versions.  Thus I must conclude that the women of the family agreed to wear said shirts.  Oh yes, I know the wife and she would not wear it if she didn't want to wear it!

So I sewed the logo onto all the shirts he brought to work, and took the payment cheerfully.  But I made him promise NEVER to tell anyone that I was the one who did the sewing!!  We laughed about it then.  He never did tell anyone in my hearing either.  He sent me a photo of the group wearing their shirts.  They all looked pretty happy.  Of course it was a group picture and the logo could not be clearly seen in the picture.

Fast forward two years.  He brought me a box of shirts this week...  oh yeah -- same logo.

Sew on!

Post #103

Somewhere along the line I passed post number 100, and didn't even notice...  I guess I was having too much fun to count!

Sew on.

I'm Going To Wear Skirts Again!

Seems like since our new office move, I should be dressing better.  For too many years I've been working in a basement suite with anywhere from zero to six men as office mates, depending upon the day.  I've been used to wearing pants and a top and maybe a sweater or a jacket for far too long!

 

I usually get more dressed up on Sundays, but still, mostly pants!  I used to wear skirts and dresses... back before putting on pantyhose seemed like cruel and unusual punishment.

 

Last week I was organizing my stash, and came across about six yards of this bright floral cotton blend.  Had it been 100% cotton it would have gone into the quilting stash box, but if you're quilting you really don't want to mix blends in unless your fabrics are all prewashed. 

 

 

I must have liked it a lot!! I bought six yards!

So think of the possibilities with this print... might go with blue or aqua or fuchsia, and of course white and black.

I pulled out my trusty OLD Stretch and Sew pattern for straight, four gore and six gore skirts.  This one happens to be four gore.  It has less flair than the six gore.. it probably is very close to an A line but with four seams instead of two.  And with this print, unless I wanted a lot of swing, the seams will be hidden so there was no real reason for going six gore.

I pulled out the serger, whipped up the seams and clean finished the hem and top edge.  I sewed my favorite no roll 1 1/4 inch elastic into a tube, folded down the top casing and stitched it down using my regular sewing machine and the zipper foot.  Using the zipper foot gets the casing nice and snug.  Even non-rolling elastic benefits from this application.

Then I switched over to the blind hem foot and after pinning up the hem I sewed that on the regular machine too.

Voila!  About an hour later (allowing for pressing the seams and the hem) I added this skirt to my wardrobe.  I didn't think about taking a pic of me wearing it, but after I hung it on the closet door to put away, I took a photo of the sweater I paired it with (minus the white tank top that was under the sweater).



 

 

Next time I might try a blue sweater... or maybe I'll see if there is some bright green in the stash somewhere.  I love green!

 

Sew on!

Last Thing On The List

Way back a couple dozen posts ago, I started writing about things that inspired me or were important in my sewing journey:  Mrs. W, a white coat, and some other things.  The last thing on the list was the Jean Jacket Remake.

I bought a rather expensive jean jacket about seven years ago from Coldwater Creek.  It was expensive even though I bought it on sale, because it was made of a soft tencel fabric, I guess you could say it was denim in color only.  However, like most jean-style jackets it felt like it was too short on me.  I am long-waisted, and I normally add 2 inches to the length of tops and dresses.

This jacket was a major disappointment when I got it home.  I loved the fabric, and everyone in the world had a jean jacket -- except me.

I studied it for a while, hung it in the closet and pouted.  The catalogs were showing such cute combinations of jean jackets and floral skirts and dresses...  oh pooh!

  

I saw a Mary Mulari episode of Nancy's Notions where Mary extended the bottom of a sweat shirt cardigan with a fabric rectangle.  Hey, if she can do it on a sweatshirt, why can't I do it to this jacket?  It's just hanging there getting no use anyway, right?

I cut some batik rayon fabric into rectangles and finished the short ends.  Then I got out the scissors and cut the bottom band off the expensive tencel jean jacket.  I took out my serger.  The bottom of my jacket was longer than the width of the batik fabric, so I made two strips and overlapped them at the center back.  This would be more comfortable anyway, as it will allow for my wider hips.

You can just see above the date in this photo where the panel I added on this side angles toward the side seam.  I top stitched the seam allowance toward the batik panel.

OK, this was a totally gorgeous piece of batik, but with the fabric at the bottom it sort of looked like a patch, and not in a good way.  The secret to doing this type of makeover, according to Pauline Richards, is to put that same fabric somewhere else on the garment and make it look like it's supposed to be there.

I had a pretty good sized piece of batik left over, so I experimented with putting a piece on the pockets, on the cuffs, and finally settled on covering the collar.  That was a pretty simple operation.  I traced the collar onto tissue paper, creating a pattern.  I added seam allowance, cut it out, and hand stitched it to the jacket.

The fabric was very soft, and I didn't add any interfacing because the collar was as stiff as I wanted it to be.  The fabric easily conformed to the collar shape.  After 7 years it still looks very nice.

Here's the finished project:

I cut the cuffs off, finished the sleeve ends with the serger and folded them up twice for a casual look.  I wear this all the time with black slacks and a white tee shirt for casual Friday at the office.  With the black pants it's dressier than jeans and more appropriate for my downtown office.  I have also worn it over a solid navy tank and skirt, or my white summer Capri pants.

So I saved it from going into the Goodwill bin after one wearing, and have justified the money spent to purchase it by making it versatile, comfortable and more my style.

What are you remaking or restyling?

Keep on sewing!

Fabric Shopping

Anyone who reads this blog understands that I love sewing, and I have since I was a very small child!  I enjoy the process from beginning to end.  I was strictly a garment sewist for a very long time.  I started quilting when we were expecting the arrival of our first grandchild in 2001. 

My very favorite part of the process has to be picking out the fabrics.  I love the planning stage of any type of project.  Coming up with a pattern and having a picture in my mind of the finished product, and then trying to come up with the materials just makes my juices flow!

One of my favorite places to be is any fabric department of any store... but of course I have my favorites!! 

These days, I shop for garment fabric from my stash, and when I can't find the right thing there, I have to travel out of town, or shop the Internet.  <Sigh>

Sewists are by nature tactile beings.  We need to touch and feel.  We see as much with our fingers as with our eyes.  I dare anyone who sews even a little to walk through their local fabric source and not touch SOMETHING while they're walking the aisles!!  Nope, can't do it!

So learning to shop on the Internet has been a challenge for me.  For quilting cottons, it's not so bad.  You can learn a fabric line or buy a designer, and you just have to be a little concerned that the colors on the screen are what you really want. 

With garment fabric it's a bit more challenging.  You can learn the various types of fabric, and what they are expected to feel like, or how they would drape.  Books like Fabric Savvy and More Fabric Savvy from Sandra Betzina can help.

But if you really want to know how the fabric will FEEL, if that's important to you before you buy, shopping on line can be very hard.  That's why it's so important to find out some things about your on line retailer.  What is their return policy if the fabric is just not what you thought it would be?  And can you order a swatch, and will it be large enough for you to determine whether it's suitable?

Soapbox warning!!  If you work for a chain store you can turn away for a few second...

I am a big believer in supporting local merchants!  If there's a store in the area that carries what I need, I don't buy on line, even if I can get something a little cheaper.  Because if I'm not helping to support those local stores all the time, sooner or later they close up.  Then we're stuck with fabric from whoever stays in the area, and the choices dry up!  So shop your local merchants, and thank them for being in business in your area!

OK, off the soapbox now.  You can look again.

Enjoy your next fabric shopping trip.  Look around, you might see me there!

Sew On.

Goals, Sewing Goals

I confess.  I am a person with way more ideas than time.  If I made half of all of the things I daydream about making, well, let's just say I'd have a lot more wearable clothing and a lot less stash!

I stopped at Joann's last night to pick up a pattern I keep seeing on Pattern Review.  It gets raves.  It's a fairly simple dress with a draped neckline and a cap sleeve and straight skirt, Vogue 1250. 

There were a couple of other patterns from other lines that had the same neckline shape, but what I liked about this one was the back detail... a back waist seam gives a place for adjustment if you're long waisted like I am.  I have the world's shortest legs, but my back waist measurement is two inches longer than 'standard'.  I never made a dress with a waist seam that didn't need 2 inches in the bodice.

I think one of the things that really made me want to make up this pattern (as opposed to the several million others I already own) was that Pattern Review had photos of several women in two digit sizes who made it and looked fabulous in it.

If you're not familiar with Pattern Review, you should go there and take a look.  www.patternreview.com will get you there.  Scroll down in the left panel and click on Sewing Pattern Reviews.  You can see some stuff without charge or buy a Friends of PR membership and get enhanced services.  I AM NOT BEING PAID BY PR TO SAY ANY OF THIS.  I personally signed up for the free stuff only. 

They have on line classes but the price is not cheap.  My personal opinion for what it's worth is that the access to classes you can get with an American Sewing Guild membership are a better value.  AND you can get on-line classes any time you can turn on your computer.  Of course the class curriculum is a bit different on each site, but again, NOT BEING PAID by anyone, just my humble opinion.

Anyway, back to goals.  My personal goal for fall is to sew a 'five easy pieces' set of garments for myself between now and Christmas.  I want to make a navy pantsuit or pants and jacket for work.  I want to make three tops that go with said navy pants and jacket.

Some likely candidates from my stash of patterns...

Hopefully now that I've written it down, I will apply myself toward actually doing it.

Oh yeah, and I want to get back to attending regular neighborhood group meetings of my local ASG chapter too.  Maybe that will help with the inspiration and provide incentive to sew for me.

Sew on!

Tribeca Shirt or Jacket

Last weekend I sewed some buttonholes in a shirt/jacket that I started about this time last year. 

I went to a sewing expo in a small town in western Wisconsin in June of 2011 with my friends Marlene and Judy.  I went mostly because Marta Alto of Palmer Pletsch was doing a pants fitting seminar.  It's one of the least expensive shows I've ever attended.  Including two meals, my pants fitting class and four or five one-hour classes, I spent less than $100!

Among the vendors was one of my favorite independent fabric stores from Madison, WI, called Gayfeather Fabrics.  Virginia, the owner, sells patterns from the independent designers, and fabulous fabric.

On top of that, and a BIG plus in my book, is that she has sample garments made up, so you can try things on.  This helps a lot, because sometimes the drawing on the pattern envelope bears to resemblance to what the garment will look like on my 5'2", NOT size 12 body!

Anyway, I bought this pattern, called the Tribeca shirt

It's a fairly simple design, some neckline detail and some darts for fitting.  This is completely unlined, and with no facings.  You turn under the edges and mitre the corners, and the construction is easy.  The directions are wonderfully simple and easy to follow.

I put more buttons in the front, since I don't like the gaposis that can occur if you're a person who has to make a full bust adjustment in things, which I normally do. 

The fabric was a pinky rosy background with brown geometric lines, kind of a heavy linen.  I can't remember the fiber content but I think I'm going to hand wash or dry clean this shirt anyway.

Here's the product:

 I shortened the sleeve by about two inches, which is a normal adjustment for me.  I'm thinking about adding some shoulder pads, or maybe some Velcro strips in the shoulder seams so I can use removable pads.  I did flat felled seams because the fabric hinted at raveling.  The wrong side is a lighter color, and might show when I wear it, but that's OK because I did a GREAT job on the edges, if I do say so myself!

I used buttons that kind of look like jeans snaps for a casual feel.  It could be a light weight jacket over a tee shirt, or a nice shirt with either brown or white pants.

If you're in downtown Milwaukee tomorrow, you might see me wearing it!

Oh, and I DID finish a pair of trousers from the fitting workshop, but that's another blog...
Sew on.

Oh No, Did I Really?

I had to stop in at JoAnn's the other night for something.  I don't remember now what it even was...

Ohhhh, yeah... it was 50% off!!  And pretty, don't you agree?

From Wedding Gown...

This past week someone who knows that I sew, and has seen some of my more humble projects such as doll clothes and quilts, asked me if I knew anyone who could make a baptismal dress from a wedding gown, or if I would consider doing it myself.

Coincidentally, I always wanted to do that with my own dress.  My first child was a boy, so I made an outfit for his baptism but I used something more tailored than the fancy crystal peau satin of my dress.  When my daughter was born, I had forgotten about the wedding dress and made her something totally different.

Fast forward 40 years and I get another chance, but with someone else's gown!

The Pattern:

We got together to discuss her expectations -- literally and figuratively!!  Her due date is early November.

My friend brought two patterns along, one she thought was nice but...

the one she really preferred was this one.



Then she brought out the dress.

Here are a few pictures of 'before':

The dress is strapless, the bodice is heavily beaded.  She did think she wanted the satin bow to be reused somehow, but I don't think there's enough money in the world that could induce me to remove and use the bodice.  I think there's enough fabric in the skirt and train for even the longest baby gown.

The lace has a scalloped edge, which will be used along the bottom of the baby gown.  It's beautiful and there is plenty of it going around the back of the skirt of the bridal gown.

And there's even an underskirt with fabric that can be used for lining or petticoat for the baby.

I think I'll pick a nice long weekend to start this... I'll post about it again after Labor Day weekend.

Sew on!