A Stitch in Gloria's Time

2011-09-05T15:39:00.001-05:00

Starting to sew my fall wardrobe. First up is a pair of navy slacks, Simplicity 2562. I'm using a beautiful rayon fabric.

Food For Thought

2011-08-28T09:43:00.000-05:00

I really enjoy Grandma's Sewing Cabinet, a podcast and blog. I've been listening to the podcast since it's beginning. Dr. Julie-Ann Fann, the owner, has an educational background, and started out just talking about her sewing. However, like many podcasts, it has evolved over time. Recently Dr. Julie-Ann returned to school to study sewing; not design, but rather custom clothing. She has regaled us with stories of her classes and has generously shared lots of great information. (Grandma's Sewing Cabinet gets its name from the cabinet that Dr. Julie-Ann uses as her sewing headquarters. The cabinet was made by her grandfather for her grandmother. Dr. Julie-Ann is lucky enough to have inherited it.)

Her most recent blog post and podcast is titled Plan Your Sewing Like A Designer. Looking at the blogpost I saw all these really fancy pictures of her "look book" for a wardrobe class project. My initial thoughts were about how much time it took to make these illustrated pages. "I'd rather spend that time actually sewing" was another arrogant thought that crossed my mind. And then I listened to the podcast. In her charming manner, Dr. Julie-Ann explained the process she went through to create this "look book". And I humbly admit it is a very worthwhile process.

I am not one of those sewers that buys fabric willy-nilly, paying no attention to color or pattern. I try very hard to sew items that go together and blend in and work with other items in my wardrobe. But recently I've been thinking alot about my lifestyle and how my clothes don't really reflect how I actually live. And the steps Dr. Julie-Ann talks about can really help me out in this area. Thinking of myself as a customer will help me identify what items I need to sew and add to my wardrobe.

For instance, I love wool slacks and tailored jackets. Unfortunately, I work from home and have very little need for a tailored outfit. I think I need to embrace the fact that my lifestyle is casual, not formal or tailored, not business casual, but just plain casual. I could get away with shorts & t-shirts for most of the summer. But I don't really like to dress that way. The challenge is to define what I like to wear in the realm of casual.

I really see the value in Dr. Julie-Ann's process. I don't have the expertise to create beautifully illustrated pages like Dr. Julie-Ann, but I definitely will create my own "look book" and use it on an ongoing basis.

No Sewing Today

2011-08-25T21:20:00.002-05:00

No sewing today but I did make it to my Thursday evening knitting group. I love that time.

Mindless Sewing For a Good Cause

2011-08-24T14:28:00.000-05:00

This is one of those "friend of a friend of a friend of a friend" stories. The daughter of the sister of our ASG Chapter President is in charge of a fund raising event for a local charity. The event involves participants and their dogs. Each participant gets a goody bag filled with stuff for their dog. Neither the daughter nor the sister sew, so the sister asked the Chapter President if any of her sewing buddies would help make dog collar covers/sleeves. Of course we will help! So I've been sewing these very simple dog collar thingys. Basically it is just sewing a 4" x 30" piece of cotton into a tube. Pretty mindless—serge each end and then serge the wrong sides together. The seam stays on the outside. I've made about 100 so far with another 100 to go.

I'm also working on some pillowcase dresses to send to my friend in West Virginia. She is putting together a box of these dresses to go to little girls in Haiti. My goal is 24, but I don't know if I'll make that by the deadline.

I keep working at cleaning & organizing the sewing studio. I'm looking forward to the stash bash our ASG chapter will have in 2012. I really want to clean out the fabric and pattern stash. I feel weighed down by all the fabric I have that I know I will not ever use. Ever since my time with Nancy Nix-Rice last spring I realize how much fabric I have that is the wrong colors for me. So in addition to taking up way too much physical space it infringes on my creativity. I'll be glad to move it out. I've thought about opening an Etsy shop but that's too much work, taking pictures, setting it up, listing everything, promoting the shop. I'll just put up with it till the stash bash and move it out then. What I don't sell I'll donate somewhere.

Lost in the Sewing Studio

2011-08-23T14:00:00.000-05:00

Help! I went to my sewing studio last April to sew for The Son's August wedding and I just found my way out. Yep, that's right. The sewing studio swallowed me and only recently did it spit me back out.

I made 2 junior bridesmaid dresses, 2 flower girl dresses, the ring bearer pillow, 2 head bands, my rehearsal dinner dress, and, of course, Mother-of-the-Groom dress. I am so glad the wedding sewing is over. Here are some pictures of what I made.

Ring bearer pillow and flower girl headbands

My beautiful granddaughters "patiently" waiting for the the ceremony to start. I made 2 of each of these dresses.

The Love, The Princess & me.

I don't have a picture from the rehearsal dinner. I made Vogue 1250 in a dark grey-blue knot from Christine Jonson. It was pretty awesome looking. I've worn that dress several times since the wedding.

So in addition to the wedding sewing I also made a few other random items of clothing over the summer, a pair of navy pants, a pink sleeveless Margarita top. I'm working on the fall wardrobe now. More of that in my next post.

That's What Friends Are For

2011-04-19T15:59:00.002-05:00

My friend, Londa, posted on her blog about making a dress, V1250. I headed over to the Vogue website to see the pattern and, holey-moley! it was on sale for $3.99. "Hmm", I said to self. "I think I need that pattern. And free shipping on orders over $25. I could see if any of the patterns on my wish list are $3.99 also."

In addition to the previously mentioned V1250, I also purchased these patterns: V8519 (A Claire Schaeffer classic); V8709 (A Marci Tilton jacket); V1184 (A Sandra Betzina pattern. I wouldn't pay any more than $3.99 for this, but it has potential.) I also purchased a Butterick pattern I need for one of the flower girl dresses later this summer. And I purchased this book, Knits Men Want. So why that book? Because Sunday The Love confessed that he would like for me to knit him a sweater. Also, The Son would like a sweater. This book sounded inviting since I have not ever knitted anything for a man.

So $40 later I checked out. Yep. That's what my friends are for!

Unproductive Weekend

2011-04-18T13:33:00.000-05:00

I didn't accomplish a lot of sewing this weekend. The navy pants are about half finished. The fly-front zipper instructions were not clear and I had to pin & baste all the steps to make sure I understood them correctly. The zipper looks nice now that it is in, but it took extra time.

I did make an apron over the weekend. I purchased the panel at the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo held recently in Schaumburg IL. The quilt shop I purchased the panel from had a kit with an extra cut of a coordinating fabric and directions for making the apron reversible. It turned out really cute and I love it.

"Hot" Apron

"Hot" Apron Reversed

The reverse side has 4 pockets across the width. I don't use pockets much, but once in a while they come in handy.

Knitting in Public

2011-04-15T09:27:00.000-05:00

I am going public. Yep, it's true. Last night for the first time every in my whole entire life I knit in public.

I am not a "Knitter". I only knit. "Knitters" are people who live, breath, sleep and eat knitting and yarn. You can call out a pattern name and "Knitters" immediately know exactly what you are talking about. Yeah, that's not me. I can barely remember the name of the pattern I am working on, let alone patterns from magazines 5 years ago. And my yarn knowledge-practically nonexistent, which is why I always try to get the exact yarn called for in the pattern. I get very nervous when substituting yarns.

For being mostly self-taught, I think I am a pretty good knitter, but being around "Knitters" gives me an inferiority complex. However, last night I took the plunge and joined the KAL (knit along) group at my LYS (local yarn store). (KAL & LYS are "secret codes" "Knitters" use. I feel so cool that I know what they mean.)

I don't hang out at my LYS. I pick a pattern (usually something I find online or read about; heaven forbid I would actually peruse the pattern books at the yarn store), drive to my LYS, ask for the yarn, pay for it and leave. All neat and tidy. I avoid "Knitters" like the plague. Not because they are unpleasant people. They're not. They are very nice and helpful. I just feel so inadequate and ignorant around them.

So I was surprised that after reading about a new KAL starting up at my LYS I wanted to join in. Me? Whoa! I got in my car and drove to my LYS eager to buy my yarn and get started. I was really disappointed when told that the color yarn I wanted had to be ordered. But, o.k. I really want to do this so I would wait.

My yarn finally arrived Tuesday and yesterday evening with knitting needles in tow I made my appearance at the Thursday evening KAL. I was nervous and anxious. Would they like me? Heck, would they even notice me?

I had a great time! The group is about 15 ladies of all different ages. Some of us knit intently with little conversation. Some talked with little knitting. A couple even spent most of the time shopping for yarn. There was a lengthy conversation about sheep, fleeces (?), spinning and other stuff that I didn't understand. But mostly, we all just knit in an easy, comfortable setting. And yes, I'll be back next week.

So what am I knitting. The pattern is called The Warren Jacket. I'm using a "thick and thin" cotton yarn, taupe colored. As noted above, I can't remember the name of the yarn or the book the pattern is from.

In Lieu of Working…

2011-04-14T09:39:00.002-05:00

I know. I'm supposed to be slaving away at work right now, but hey, every girl deserves a break, right?

So have you seen these mug rugs? They are just way too cute! Two thoughts—

I have no desire to become a "Quilter", but this is doable.
I can finally throw away the coffee-stained, broken plastic canvas mug rugs currently residing on my table that I've had for 10+ years.

The bad thing is these will be in line after the navy pants, the ASG Neighborhood Challenge project due in July, the 2 flower girl dresses, 2 jr. bridesmaid dresses and my own mother-of-the-groom dress for my son's August wedding.

On 2nd thought, surely I can squeeze 1 or 2 of these out before fall.

My Soul is Fed by Needle & Thread

2011-04-13T20:24:00.000-05:00

Simplicity 2562

Tonight I cut out these pants sans cuffs in some navy blue cotton fabric for summer.

It's been a few months since I have sewn actual garments. I have been so blue over my mom's illness and death that I just didn't have the desire to really delve into sewing. But I'm feeling much better, and thanks to the encouragement and support of my friend, Angee, I'm back at it. Thank you, Girlfriend!

So what's up with the navy? A few disjointed facts about me.

Anyone who knows me knows I have become a very black & white girl. Black pants & white tops. I own about 20 white knit t-shirts, mostly from The Gap & Target.
I have always wanted to get my colors "done" by a professional. So I splurged with some of the money my mom gave me and did that. Whoa! What an eye opener. I'll talk more about my time with Nancy Nix-Rice in one or more other posts.
I need a whole new summer wardrobe. The recession has left my wardrobe in sad shape, especially for summer.

One of the things Nancy Nix-Rice does is help you shop your stash. So after the rude awakening that I need to change the color of all my clothes and banish both black & white from my closet, we spent an hour one afternoon choosing fabrics from my stash for a new summer wardrobe. I had so much fun! I learned so much! I had so much fun! Thus, navy is my new black. Thus, the first thing I am making is a pair of navy pants.

It felt so comfortable and comforting to be in my sewing room this evening, tracing the pattern, ironing the fabric, laying out everything and then cutting out the pants. I have a saying taped to my laptop—"My soul is fed by needle & thread." That is true. I feel calm, content and peaceful tonight.

Weekend Sewing Part 2

2010-11-20T20:01:00.001-06:00

I had a very productive day.

Here is the bread cloth for The Coach. It took me a lot longer to finish it than I had figured. I had calculated around an hour or maybe an hour and a half would be all that was needed to do the outlining and the message. Three and a half hours later I took the last stitch. I hope she likes it.

Here is The Coach's birthday present. I have knitted things for both The Chef and The Son but never anything for The Coach so I told her to pick something and I would make it for her. So on one hand she knows I'm making it for her. She doesn't know it's finished and I'm giving it to her for her birthday.

And, here is the final project for today. A kimono dress for The Princess. The Coach had asked me about making a dress in this Asian style for The Princess. I used a ModKid pattern, Kyoko. It was surprisingly easy. The one thing I was disappointed in was the amount of fabric the pattern called for to make the bias tape. The pattern said to buy 1 yd. So I did. And I cut it all into bias 2" wide bias strips. And now I have so much leftover. I'll have to find some project where I can use it.

I finished all three projects I had designated for today's marathon sewing session. And, I got in my 4 mile run! Good day today!

Weekend Sewing Part 1

2010-11-20T07:13:00.000-06:00

The Love is out camping with his buddies this weekend and I am so psyched about being able to sew & create all weekend. Here is what I accomplished last night.

Austin Pajama Pants

I started these 2 pair of pajama pants for the youngest grandson, Austin, last month. Sometimes the simplest of projects get put off because I think, "Oh they are so simple. I'll whip them up later." And later never gets here. Since we will be visiting Austin and the rest of his family for Thanksgiving, I finished these to take with us.

Riley knit top

2+2 Skirt from Oliver + S

Next up is this cute little purple top for The Princess. Again, I started it last month and just kept putting off the finishing details, like weaving in all the serged ends. This top goes with the skirt I made her in September. The Princess likes "bling" to adorn her clothing but I'm not really a "bling" person so I used lots of buttons on the top. Hopefully, she'll like it.

Two projects slated for completion this morning, both are for The Coach.

Finish cross stitching the Thanksgiving bread cloth which is part of last year's birthday gift. I only have a little outlining to do.
sew in the lining of the purse I knit The Coach for this year's birthday. I will give it to her over Thanksgiving weekend because her birthday is in early December.

But first I'm off for a morning run!

Wool Pumpkins

2010-11-16T14:45:00.000-06:00

At the recent Original Sewing & Quilt Expo in Kansas City MO I saw some really cute fabric pumpkins in a booth called Sew Cherished. The owner of Sew Cherished, Dawn, hand dyes wool and sells it along with other needlework and quilting items. I walked away without purchasing anything, but those pumpkins just planted themselves in my head and would not go away. As you can tell, I ended up buying the wool to make these 3 pumpkins as well as the pattern & kit to make this beautiful hand embroidered pumpkin. I won't even attempt to work on the embroidered pumpkin until after the holidays are all over. It will be my embroidery project for 2011.

Stuffed pumpkins made from hand-dyed wool

Embroidered pumpkin pattern

Here is the link to Sew Cherished and Crab-Apple Hill. Both are interesting websites.

Umm, Can You Say Messy?

2010-11-16T14:20:00.000-06:00

This is how my sewing studio looked Saturday morning. There was stuff piled everywhere. The pictures don't show the projects piled on the floor and the clothes to be ironed piled on the ironing board. Ugh! It was awful. I have a hard time sewing & creating when my environment is chaotic. So I took some time to clean up—only a little as it turned out. Then I got distracted and decided to finish up a couple of projects. (This is what happens when my sewing studio is a mess. I find it difficult to focus on one thing at a time.)

By Sunday evening the cutting table was better. The sewing machine area was much better, although not completely clear. I did however, make these cute wool pumpkins. And I finished up a purple knit top for The Princess and made 2 pairs of pajama pants for The Youngest Grandson.

Wool Pumpkins (see next post for details)

The Love will be camping with his buddies this weekend and I will be spending most of those 3 days in the sewing studio.

An Apron and Napkins, Totally Unrelated

2010-11-11T12:54:00.001-06:00

This apron was supposed to have been finished for my ASG Annual Meeting & Tea last Sunday. My neighborhood group was hosting the event. Alas, it didn't quite make it. But I did finish it last night. The pattern is the Vintage Style Apron from Sew4Home.com and the fabric is from the now-closing The Quilt Shoppe.(I will miss this shop. I don't quilt, but they have wonderful fabric and their level of service cannot be surpassed!) The fabric is from the Caffeine Cafe collection. The front of the apron is Coffee Cup Toss and the accent fabric is Coffee Beans Dark Blue. The apron is lined with Coffee Beans Tan. The lining makes the apron reversible.

The apron is unique because of the way the ties attach to the apron body. The tie ends are inserted through buttonholes on the apron and tied in a knot. The neck and side ties are both handled this way. Here's a close up. I really like how it turned out and probably will make some more aprons like this when I find great coordinating fabric.

When I attended the Original Sewing & Quilt Show in KCMO a couple of weeks ago I found this fall-themed fabric in one of the booths. Since I love using cloth napkins I cut the fabric into 18" squares and serged the edges, actually a rolled hem edge. I used bright orange wooly nylon in the loopers and a variegated brown thread in the needle. It looks really great.

I made 6 napkins and have decided I will give 4 to The Chef. She & her SO will be celebrating their first Thanksgiving in the house they bought this year. Maybe these napkins will add to the festivities.

Giving and Receiving

2010-11-11T08:36:00.000-06:00

I was touched by this blog post over at Sew-Whats-New.com today. It is especially timely during this holiday season.

I Love This Scarf!

2010-11-03T05:47:00.000-05:00

Northhampton Kerchief

Isn't this a beautiful scarf? I fell head over heals in love when I first saw it in the KnitPicks catalog back in September. The colors shown here are not good for me, but the design is divine. I saved my pennies and last week, with the help of a 40% off coupon, I purchased the book, New England Knits, then ran directly to my LYS, Hearthstone Knits, to buy some yarn. I came home with a lovely, dark blue, dark red, grey heather combo. I have been knitting obsessively every since.

The scarf is actually a square and you start knitting in the middle with only 12 stitches. You increase every other row. You quickly have lots of stitches on the needles. At this stage it is a very easy piece to knit. It is literally all knit stitches with yo's (yarn overs) for the increases. I pick it up and knit on it every chance I get and I'm almost finished with the grey center area. I leave on a business trip today and will have lots & lots of knitting time while traveling. Woo hoo!

My knitting has lacked excitement this year but this project has me jazzed! I can hardly wait to finish it. Did I mention I love this scarf?

Sew-Whats-New

2010-11-01T14:02:00.000-05:00

Have you discovered this great sewing site? Sew-Whats-New. I don't hang out at patternreview.com. Nor do I ever stop in at Stitcher's Guild. In fact, I don't really spend a lot of time visiting sewing sites. But I do like Sew-Whats-New. And I was blessed today to have my profile featured. I got to add the nifty little badge you see in the side bar. Pretty cool, huh?

Thia Tee--My New TNT

2010-11-01T13:50:00.000-05:00

La Fred Thia Tee I made view B with a round neckline.

Thia Tee (actually it's lavender)

Description: Thia tee is a high-hip length, semi-fitted shirt designed for stretch knits. The fit is achieved through vertical and horizontal bust darts. The pattern features two necklines: a round, semi-boat neck or a square neck. Sleeve options include a short cap sleeve, three-quarter length or long sleeve.
Sizing: XS – XXL. I made a large.

Fabric used: High quality single knit from the stash. I believe it came from Fashion Sewing Group maybe 6 or 7 years ago. The picture captured it as blue, but it is actually a beautiful medium lavender.
Instructions: Easy and there are great sewing tips included.
Changes: None; I made it straight from the pattern to check for fit.

Likes/Dislikes: There isn’t anything to dislike about this pattern.

Conclusion: I have long looked for a t-shirt pattern I could truly call a TNT (tried and true). I finally found it! I love the fit of this pattern. I love the styling. The darts help shape the top so it doesn’t just hang on me. Even the slightly dropped shoulders are o.k. I might try raising them just a tad. The neckline is simple so it will be easy to scoop it out; raise it a bit and add a turtleneck collar. Ooh-la-la. I’m loving it!

Textile Studio Capri Jacket

2010-11-01T13:37:00.000-05:00

Textile Studio Capri Jacket Short Version

Capri Jacket

Description: This versatile jacket can be worn as a jacket over a sleeveless top or a blouse depending on fabric choice. It has two length options with a fitted shoulder, narrow inset sleeves and graceful side shaping.
Sizing: XXS – XXL. I made a medium so it would be more fitted. I’m just not into very loose-fitting tops.
Fabric used: Very soft, drapey knit, brown with blue flecks.
Instructions: Easy, easy, easy!
Changes: None

Likes/Dislikes: The fabric is so soft and drapey. I love that. But I think this jacket would be better with fabric that had a bit more body.

Conclusion: I like the end result, but I don’t love it. I thought I would be able to wear it as a blouse, but I will need a cami under it. I have some additional yardage of the fabric and I think I will try it in a more traditional knit top style. Also, the top button really isn't crooked.

Original Sewing & Quilting Expo-Kansas City MO

2010-10-25T15:18:00.000-05:00

I just returned from working at the Original Sewing & Quilting Expo in KCMO with my friend, Londa. I feel so privileged to be able to work in her booth. It is hard work, no doubt about it. But I really enjoy my time selling her beautiful Creative Sweatshirt Jacket patterns & DVDs along with other sewing items and I love talking to all the women (and men) who come in to look and buy. I also get to see new & exciting trends in the sewing & quilting cultures.

I don't claim to be on the cutting edge of what's hot but here are some things I have noticed as I attend these expos.

Quilting—Yes, women are still quilting but there seems to be a definite trend away from traditional large quilts made for beds or wall hanging. I see the patchwork principle (seaming small pieces of fabric together to create an object) being applied in different ways. Decorative pillows, place mats, and other small items were every where.

There were also several booths teaching ink jet printing on cloth. There were machines for laminating fabric and machines for cutting all manner of shapes. I guess the biggest application would be applique.

Embroidery-There are still booths selling embroidery designs but the number is shrinking.

Garment sewing-Dare I say I see a trend back to garment sewing? There are lots of small pattern designers showing up at these expos.

I don't work with Londa again till March. It will be interesting to see what 2011 brings.

My First Garment

2010-10-13T10:54:00.000-05:00

Wow! A month since I posted anything here. I knew I lost some momentum, and was out of town for a few days, and have been sick for over a week, but my, my. Where does the time go?

This time of year reminds me of the first garment I ever made for myself. I started sewing as a little tyke. I remember making "diapers" for my baby dolls before I was in kindergarten. But I didn't make anything I could actually wear until 6th grade. I was 11 years old. It was a blue and black houndstooth check wool skirt. Back in the 60's it was called a dirndl skirt. It was 2 straight pieces of fabric sewed into a tube with elastic at the top. I think I put pockets in it, but I could be wrong about that.

I loved that skirt! The fabric was awesome. I loved the colors. I wore it for a long time. I remember letting the hem down so I could wear it more. I have no idea whatever happened to it. But I sure did love it!

ASG Neighborhood Meeting 09/14/10

2010-09-16T15:38:00.000-05:00

I had a great time at our ASG neighborhood meeting Tuesday night. After almost a year I am beginning to feel like I belong here. (Good thing since I am co-leader.) My co-leader surprised me by announcing that she will not continue next year. (No comment how much we talk, my co-leader & me. It's one of my pet peeves.) Laura has been a co-leader for 10+ years. No one volunteered but there are still a few months left in the year for someone to step up.

We spent most of the meeting ironing out all the details for the Chapter Annual Meeting & Tea. Our group is in charge of hosting it in November. I feel like the whole planning process has been a scene from The Three Stooges. I thought all the major decisions had been made, but apparently not so. Tuesday night we discussed things I thought were decided months ago. Grrrr. Drives me crazy. I really dislike doing things at the last minute and that is what is going to happen here. I can read the writing on the wall.

I really didn't mean to turn this into a rant, but as long as I'm venting—it also drives me crazy how some women just talk irregardless of who else is talking and what is being discussed. There are a couple women in our neighborhood who do this. I am going to find some way to nicely tackle this issue. It is so rude!

OK. Enough ranting. I really did have a great time. There was sharing and laughing and camaraderie. I know Dr. Ron would be happy to see me attending and participating in this group. I took my Loes Hinse jacket for show-and-tell. I wonder about timing Riley's kimono dress so I can take it in next month. Hmmm. Have to think about that.

Loes Hinse Experience

2010-09-14T10:14:00.000-05:00

Loes Hinse Bolero Jacket I made View A.

Loes Hinse Bolero Jacket

Description: Softly fitted, v-neck front jacket with insert collar piece. Two length styles included. Two closure options.
Sizing: XXS-XXL I went down one size because I like my jackets to fit rather than be oversized.
Fabric used: Soft, drapey woven fabric from Textile Studios. (Stash fabric) It is berry and navy.
Instructions: Ridiculously simple. I believe the tips that Loes includes as part of the construction really make the difference between a home-made look and a designer jacket.
Changes: I added and 1-1/2" in length because the measurements on the pattern envelope would have made the jacket about waist length. I measured one of my very favorite jackets and added the extra length. I should have also measured the actual pattern pieces. The extra length wasn't necessary and I will remove it when I make this jacket again.

Likes/Dislikes: Very easy, goes together quick. Despite this quick &easy construction the jacket looks very classy—not the typical "2 Hour" garment.

Conclusion: I really like this jacket. The fabric is divine. It is so soft, but still holds the shape of the jacket. The fit is good. I think this style would look great in a jacquard fabric.

Weekend Sewing

2010-09-13T09:53:00.000-05:00

I had a very productive sewing weekend even with the ASG Fashion Show on Sunday.

I finished the casual skirt I was working on. Oops! I forgot to take a picture. It is KwikSew 3098. I made view A but shortened it and used snaps in place of the buttons. It turned out pretty cute. A great hanging-out-at-home kinda skirt. The fabric is a Ralph Lauren cotton stretch twill, khaki colored background with very small purple, lavender and yellow flowers. I bought the fabric at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston IL back in 2001 for around $6.00 for 3 yds.

I also made a Loes Hinse jacket, The Bolero Jacket. I just need to finish hemming both the jacket and sleeves and it will be finished. Pictures and a more complete review to follow.

And then, there is this 2-piece dress. I made this back in July. It was a "project" from Peggy Sagers at Silhouette Patterns. I bought the Cowl Neck Top and Yoga Skirt patterns and 2 yards of this surface embroidered slinky fabric for $29.95, I think. It's o.k. It's a lot of print for me and the color is not my favorite, but I like the patterns. They were ridiculously easy to sew. I can't believe they cost $15 each. I don't like the sizing model Peggy uses. There are no body measurements, only finished garment measurements. I find that makes it hard to figure out a size. The finished garment measurement of this really stretchy slinky knit is different from a woven silk cut on the bias. And she also has 2 size groups—one for "regular" sizes (1-4) and then what I guess are "plus" sizes. They are numbered 5W-8W. It seemed to me there was an overlap in the sizes. Oh well. The outfit turned out o.k. It's an easy fitting, casual garment I can throw on and feel good in.

Why Do I Always Look Like I'm "Biting my tongue" ?

Fashion Show

2010-09-13T09:24:00.000-05:00

Our ASG Chapter had a luncheon and fashion show of member garments yesterday. The Chapter does this about every other year. I have never attended in the past. This year not only did I attend but I modeled not one, but two garments I made. The Threads circular vest and a creative sweatshirt jacket. The afternoon was fun. I rode to the event with a couple of ladies in my neighborhood group. It is entertaining to listen to other women talk about their lives. Plus, I always come away with good feelings about my husband, my life, my kids…Listening to other people reminds me how good I have it!

So back to the fashion show—There were lots of really interesting garments and other items. One thing I really like (and suggested we do in our neighborhood group) was the 1 yard Challenge. One neighborhood group picked a fabric and each member had 1 yard to create something. Several ladies made vests; there were several bags of various sizes; a set of placemats & napkins. I thought it was a very cool idea.

Another neighborhood group did a mystery quilt challenge. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but each lady ended up with a quilt of the same design, but very different because they used their own fabrics. All looked really nice; some were outstanding!

I think the most intriguing garment was a jacket made from a shower curtain. A shower curtain? Yes. And it was beautiful! A lady found this beautiful embroidered shower curtain at the resale shop for $1.00 and cut it up to make a soft, feminine jacket. It was lovely.

The kids, of course, were all really cute.

There must be a back story to one lady's entries. She entered her 2 wedding gowns. She had 2 ceremonies so she had 2 gowns. Don't get that. And the other puzzling thing was both gowns were short and beige, almost light brown. Another part of the story was that both gowns incorporated the same fabric. Fabric she bought extraordinarily cheap-one gown cost $20 and the other one $14. Yeah for her, I think.

All in all, it was a fun afternoon.

Cheap Thrills

2010-09-10T09:22:00.000-05:00

This is my latest favorite sewing tool. I got it from Londa's-Sewing.

Collin's Point Turner

I loved the time I recently spent sewing with Londa. I learned so much from her. And, I also got to see which tools she used, why she used them, and how to use them. This point turner is a result of that experience. I've used a lot of different tools to help create perfect points and corners including the tips of scissors and chopsticks. But this little plastic point turner is the absolute best. And, at $2.85 it's a cheap thrill! The point has just the right amount of point to gently push out the corner but not put a hole in the fabric. It's a great shape to hold in your hand. I can even leave it in place and press the corner or point in place. I love it!

Sewing for the Grandkids

2010-09-08T10:10:00.000-05:00

Here are the most recent projects for the youngest grandkids.

The Princess's new PJ's

Pillowcases for DGS. He loves Hot Wheels!

I have another outfit for The Princess in the works. The skirt is the 2+2 skirt from Oliver + S and a knit t-shirt. I'm going to add a self-ruffle around the neck, similar to this.

I had quite an experience in The Studio last night and this morning. I was getting ready to cut into 2 of the fabrics from yesterday's post. I could not find one of the patterns. I searched hi and low. I searched through all the piles. No luck. Did I refile it? I pulled out the pattern catalog. Nope, not there either. I looked through the piles again. Seriously serious it wasn't there. I searched through the pattern box. Couldn't find it. I felt like I was going crazy. I knew I had studied the pattern. But where the heck was it? I went to bed feeling frustrated. In the sewing studio this morning I searched again. Piles? No. Pattern catalog? No. Pattern box? No. So I gave up and moved on. And as I walked out of the Studio about 30 minutes later there it was! Taped to the mirrored closet door. You know, right where I would see it! Whew! I'm not crazy. I did pull it out and set it aside. I knew it. Boy did I feel better.

Remembering a Sad Time

2010-09-07T10:12:00.005-05:00

Saturday evening I was in my sewing studio "puttzing" around, as my dear MIL would say. I had sewed all day and needed a break from actual sewing. But I still wanted to be in my studio so I was looking at patterns, moving stuff around, stash dreaming…you know, "puttzing" around.

As I was rearranging a couple of the many piles I have in my studio I found 3 pieces of fabric I purchased from Textile Studios in January 2005. For some inexplicable reason these 3 pieces of fabric have never made it into the "official" stash. I knew I had the fabric. They were purchased for 3 specific garments, but I hadn't cut swatches to add to my stash file, nor had I included the yardage in my stash tally. (It would be +10 yards.) But here is what made me sad when I found this fabric.

I went through a very difficult period starting in the late 90's. I was falling apart emotionally from the inside out. For a long time I didn't realize what was happening. Looking back I see that one of the ways I tried to cope was by purchasing fabric. I was obsessive, stashing away hundreds & hundreds of yards of fabric. Truth be told, I wasn't stashing, I was hoarding. I sewed very little during this period. I just bought fabric and stashed it away in boxes I hid in closets & under beds and any place I could find where I hoped The Love wouldn't notice. I racked up pretty high balances on several credit cards due to my hoarding.

The best thing I can say about having all that fabric is this. During that time I would periodically go in my sewing studio, close and lock the door, literally wrap myself in several pieces of fabric and take a nap. I would feel safe locked away from the rest of the world wrapped in long lengths of beautiful fabric. For a time, the anxiety I felt inside would dissipate. A good thing now about all that fabric is that now that I am much healthier emotionally, I have a wonderful selection of fabrics to sew from.

Finding these 3 pieces of fabric reminded me of the dark period in my life; the pain I caused the people who loved me, especially The Love Of My Life. It reminded me of the years of therapy; the hard, painful work I did to climb out of the abyss I had sunk into. It also reminded me how much The Love stood by me and how grateful I am for his love, patience, understanding, empathy and friendship.

I am ready to cut into these 3 pieces fabric now. Patterns are traced off, fabric is pre-shrunk and on the cutting table. My journey to an emotionally healthy adult continues daily. Sometimes I take small steps, sometimes I leap forward. Sewing these 3 garments will be like vaulting over a high fence.

Ready for the Runway!

2010-09-04T10:04:00.000-05:00

I just finished the 2nd garment for the upcoming fashion show hosted by ASG-St. Louis. I will be modeling these 2 garments.

(I am going to add a hook & eye
closure to the front of the circle vest. )

Hot Pink Sweatshirt Jacket

I am pretty pleased with how both garments turned out.

The sweatshirt jacket is from the Genesis Too pattern from Londa's Creative Threads. Londa asked me to participate in filming her latest DVD, Creative Jacket Journey. I was thrilled to be asked and spent 3 wonderful, sewing-filled days in her studio. On the last day, she received a shipment of duppioni silk and I absolutely fell in love with the hot pink. The photo didn't capture the true color of the silk. It is a bright, hot pink, bordering on magenta. It is gorgeous! So I paired it with this interesting cotton batik print, added some bright blue silk duppioni for a little contrast and "plopped" it all on a navy sweatshirt base. I am really happy with the results. Here is a picture of the back.

Sewing for Riley & Me

2010-09-01T17:25:00.000-05:00

I cut out a couple of garments this morning. Two for my DGD, RileyRoo and one for me.

PJ's from a pink & purple flowered cotton with the Barbie logo on it are by the sewing machine as is a 2+2 Pleated Skirt from Oliver + S. The skirt fabric is a stretch cotton twill, khaki background with very small purple & yellow flowers. I cut a casual skirt for myself from the same fabric. With the Labor Day weekend almost here, I hope to finish these items by Monday.

Then, it is on to some sewing for The Chef. She rescued some fabric I was selling in a yard sale and asked for 2 pairs of slacks and skirt.

In addition, I'm knitting a purse for The Coach and I still have 3 bread cloths to cross-stitch for her also.

For the first time in my life it seems that the more creative things on my "plate", the more creative ideas I have in my head. It's actually kind of cool because I never really think of myself as "creative". Yes, I can sew really well, I knit and cross stitch about average. But I have always had to have a pattern by my side. I always followed the directions to a letter. I just didn't seem to have an original thought. But lately, there have been a lot of "what if I did this?" and "hmm, I wonder how that would look?" percolating in my brain. It's kind of nice.

A Busy Little Beaver

2010-08-30T16:35:00.000-05:00

I worked hard all weekend and finished up one garment for the upcoming fashion sew for our ASG chapter. This is it.

It is a circular vest from Threads #146. The fabric is from my friend, Londa. The fabric isn't double cloth. It is just woven to have 2 distinct sides. I bound the edges and the armholes with black French bias strips. The armholes are a bit tight and after the fashion sew I am going to remove the binding and make them bigger.
Also, the fabric is a bit stiff and doesn't allow for the vest to look "closed". I am going to add a small black hook & eye so if I want to "close" it, I can. The Chef suggested using a great button for the closure. A great idea, but I don't want to draw that much attention to my mid-life midriff.

Productivity Overflows

2010-08-24T14:24:00.000-05:00

I finished up a big alterations job this past weekend so I have time to sew for me now. Yeah!

I finished this knit top. It's a Marcy Tilton Vogue pattern. I cut it 1 size smaller than my measurements called for. I did not want it to be really loose fitting. And I love the way it turned out. This stash fabric was purchased at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston IL 5 or 6 years ago. I think it actually was in the clearance pile. This is the first Marcy Tilton pattern I have used and she has some great designs. It was my first foray into spray adhesive in the sewing studio. I was a little messy at first but quickly learned to cover everything close by. I still haven't figured out how to get the residue off my fingertips. I ended up using nail polish remover because soap just didn't do the job.

I also finished this Creative Sweatshirt Jacket. It is based on the Refined pattern. The embellishment fabric is Thai cotton and Kimono silk. It turned out pretty well. I get better with each jacket I work on.

I Really Have Been Sewing

2010-08-17T12:53:00.000-05:00

In spite of the drought in blog posts I have been sewing. Here's a three items I have completed recently.

Amy Butler Frenchie Bag

I made this bag for DGD1 for Christmas 2009 and really like the style. On a recent trip to Dearborn MI I stopped in at quilt store and fell in love with the dogwood print. I would never "wear" the fabric so I decided to make me a Frenchie Bag. I've received a ton of compliments on it.

Laptop Bag

Again, I fell in love with the sateen cotton print at a sewing show I worked at in Cincinnati. I bought the fabric and then found a laptop bag pattern in the booth next to me. I had some trouble with the pattern directions not making sense, but the bag turned out o.k. Someone I know loves the bag and may receive it as a present come Christmas.

Clothes for The Princess

My youngest DGD has earned the nickname Princess. I say it lovingly but some members of her immediate family are a little more sarcastic. Be that as it may, I love sewing for The Princess. Here's a summer dress I whipped up for her.

She didn't really like the drawstring tie in the front so when I made her a short top with capri pants from the same pattern, I moved the tie(s) to the shoulders. I don't have a picture but it was made from a silky polyester fabric, very light pink background with rosebuds all over. Her mom (The Coach) told me when The Princess opened the package she immediately declared them pyjamas and wore them every night for the first week or so. I'm so happy she liked them.

I have a couple of other garments which are deserving of their own post.

ASG National Convention

2010-08-16T14:16:00.000-05:00

I was lucky enough to attend the ASG national convention in Atlanta recently. I worked for my friend, Londa, in her booth so I wasn't able to take any classes but I did participate in the fashion show and I attended the "gala" Saturday night to honor Shirley Adams.

I'm going to be brutally honest here. I was really disappointed overall. Maybe taking classes vs. being a vendor would change my mind, but for the cost of attending this convention…well, let's just say it's pretty pricey.

The best part of the convention is that is held entirely in a hotel. (In this case, the Atlanta Hilton.) So the accommodations, both convention facilities and hotel rooms, were really nice. It also helped me personally that the snack bar in the lobby served Starbucks. Another good thing was the food, mostly. Friday's breakfast and lunch were not so good, but after that the food was great, especially the desserts. The Chef would have been pleased with the presentation of the desserts.

Vendors: I don't have an exact count, but there were only about 40-50 vendors at the expo portion. And, they weren't big national companies or people. In my opinion the 2 biggest people there were Louise Cutting and Linda Lee. Oh yes, Peggy Sagers was there also. Mostly it was mom-and-pop businesses, which is absolutely great. But I thought that the sewing machine companies would have big booths. Also, I thought the Big 4 pattern companies would be there. What a great place to promote your stuff. Hardly any fabric for sale. Louise Cutting and SewKeyse had fabric, along with some smaller local shops.

Overall, the expo is much smaller than Puyallup. I've never been to the Novi show but I've heard that it is as big as Puyallup so this ASG would be smaller than it also.

Evening activities: On Friday night was the big fashion show. It was fun. Some of the clothes were amazing. Amazing not so much from the technical construction side, but the beading, the hand weaving, the putting together of different fabrics--that was amazing. I modeled the Genesis Too jacket I made with Londa for her new DVD, Creative Jacket Journey. Londa modeled the Worthy jacket from the DVD. Somehow, the ladies lining us up for the show switched Londa and me in line and the commentator read the wrong description for my jacket. What do you do when you're on the runway, under the spotlight and the description doesn't match the article of clothing? Just keep smiling and walking and smiling. My only other complaint about the fashion show was the lady doing the commentary. It seemed to me that she hadn't even read the script. She stumbled through almost all the garment descriptions. I heard this complaint from some other fashion show participants as well.

On Saturday night was the big "Gala" honoring Shirley Adams of The Sewing Connection. I hardly think "gala" describes the night. It was dinner and then Shirley talked about her company. (I found that interesting because had never heard her story.) There was a slide show but it wasn't accompanied with any talking or even any background music. Kinda weird. Then the night was over. That was it. I was expecting a big hoopla.

The show was pretty good sales-wise for Londa. But if I was just a plain attendee, I would hope that the classes were fabulous. I have to admit that if I have the opportunity to attend this convention as an attendee, I will go. I think the caliber of teachers is pretty good and I would be very selective about the classes I signed up for, but I believe it is possible to get some great training there.

I also want to put a plug in for Gail K Fabrics in Atlanta. Oh my gosh! A garment sewers heaven. The fabric is stacked floor to ceiling, literally! They had all price ranges from less than $10 to $100+ for bridal fabrics and great suit woolens. We spent about 2 hours there. Londa bought this absolutely fabulous red stretch velvet with a burnout design. It will be her New Year's Eve ballroom dancing gown. And she also bought this weird furry stuff to tickle her creative side. I was pretty restrained. I bought only 1 piece of tapestry-grey & pink-to make a jacket.

On Hold

2010-07-16T11:58:00.000-05:00

I put my creative sweatshirt jacket on hold for this week for a couple of reasons. I had to do some charity sewing for my neighborhood ASG group. The other reason--I sewed the front band & collar on the wrong side. Now I have to rip out 2 very long rows of stitching.

We visited a local assisted living/nursing home for our monthly ASG Neighborhood meeting. We took "almost finished" walker bags to distribute to the residents. I say "almost finished" because we left off the buttons and buttonholes and allowed the ladies to choose their buttons. A couple of the members had their sewing machines along and we did buttonholes and buttons right there.

I don't really like visiting nursing homes. I'm much better with children than elderly people, but I had a good time. We had about 20 women (and 1 man) participate. One lady told us about how she would see a dress in a store and draw a picture for her mother and her mother would make her that dress. Pretty impressive! Another lady taught home ec at a high school. Another lady used to make rugs from Prairie Points. We even had a couple of questions about sewing machines and sergers.

Steady Progress on Jacket

2010-07-09T10:09:00.000-05:00

I am making steady progress on my sweatshirt jacket. It's going a little slower than I would like, but I am making time each evening to work on it. The jacket I am working on is like this periwinkle jacket. I am using a brick colored Authentic Pigment Sweatshirt with 3 silk coordinated prints. I should be able to finish it up this weekend and then I'll post a picture.

Laundry Interference

2010-07-07T16:54:00.000-05:00

I didn't get to sew much last night. That darn laundry and ironing was calling my name pretty loudly. I did do some creative designing with the fabric embellishments for my sweatshirt jacket so tonight I can make some significant headway on it.

4th of July Sewing Marathon

2010-07-06T15:26:00.001-05:00

I made it a goal to sew, sew, sew this weekend and boy did I!

I made a laptop computer case from the quilting fabric I purchased in Cincinnati. (More about that later.) Then I made the Biased About Jackets from Fashion in Harmony. And I am well on my way to creating another Creative Sweatshirt Jacket.

Sunday morning when I walked into my sewing studio I realized I had lots of piles of stuff sitting around. Time to do a little picking up and reorganizing. I spent a couple hours Sunday and Monday on the task and the room looks much better--less chaotic. I feel better with all my projects in bags, lined up and ready to go. I'm not completely finished, however, there are still a couple piles of patterns to be filed and papers to be sorted through. But it is 99% better than before.

I plan to finish my sweatshirt jacket in 2 more evenings of sewing. Then I need to make some walker bags for a nursing home my ASG Neighborhood group will be visiting on the 13th.

Where Did My Sewing Mojo Go?

2010-01-22T15:01:00.000-06:00

I have lost my sewing mojo again. I wrote about this some time back. Sometimes I just get in a funk and don't sew. I think this episode might be due to the inordinate amount of holiday sewing and knitting I did. But it's been almost a month and I need to get back on track.

I think I'll start this weekend. I need a new pair of "khaki" slacks. I have a pattern that I'm working on to make a TNT. It is Vogue 7881. I've made a muslin and also 1 pair. The muslin fit pretty good, but the first pair didn't work out so well. I used a bottom-weight fabric with stretch, way too much stretch. I just am not able to get them to be anything but too big. I finally decided it was the fabric choice. So I'll work this weekend with some other bottom-weight cotton fabric I have in my stash.

A New Year in ASG

2010-01-14T14:05:00.000-06:00

I co-chaired my first ASG neighborhood group meeting Tuesday night. It was lots of fun.

Our neighborhood group will be hosting the Chapter Annual Meeting & Tea in November this year. We kicked around some ideas for table favors; several people volunteered to check out locations. We still need a theme. But it was good.

Our program was to share your favorite sewing book and/or DVD. I offered Sandra Betzina's Fabric Savvy and also Londa's Refined Embellishment DVD. One lady shared that her favorite book is Sewing 911. She said she found it more & more relevant in these economic times when you have to repair and restyle clothes more. I will check it out.

…And the Children Were Nestled All Snug in Their Beds…

2010-01-08T20:56:00.000-06:00

I've closed the door on 2009. It's over, done, gone, in the past. I am looking forward to 2010.

I have done some soul searching the last few weeks. I'm not big on new year's resolutions. Rather, I try to look at me, my life, and decide what areas I would like to change or enhance. And this year I want to make better use of my time. At work, at home, and in my sewing world.
One thing I am doing to enhance my life is training to run a half-marathon in April. I actually started this journey in November. My oldest daughter, Jeni, is my trainer & coach. Jeni has run since high school and has competed in marathons, triathalons and numerous half-marathons. Check out my running blog.

I have accepted the position of co-leader for my neighborhood ASG group. I am pretty excited. I haven't been very active in the past, but attended several meetings last year. When they asked for volunteers to help out, I spoke up. I felt like it was a way to commit myself to the organization.

The other aspect of sewing that has been on my mind is how to do more of it. I read other seamstresses blogs and marvel at how they a) work outside the home; b) have a husband & kids; c) do volunteer work and still manage to sew 70+ garments a year. By comparison, I work from home (no commute time), have no kids at home, only The Love of My Life, and managed to sew maybe 10 things last year. What's my problem?

I have tried to master the "10 minutes every day" motto. But it just hasn't worked. Some days there are not 10 minutes for me to sew. I am out of town, I have customers to entertain in the evening, sometimes I just don't feel like sewing. So I've been trying to figure out how to do more of my most favorite hobbies.

Well, yesterday as I was shoveling 6" of snow off the driveway in sub-zero temperatures, I listened to the latest podcast from Grandma's Sewing Cabinet. (I know, I'm behind on my podcasts also.) But the topic was so right on for what I'd been mulling over. Dr. Julie had a conversation with Dr. Meggin McIntosh, a productivity specialist.

Dr. McIntosh used the visual of life as a tote bag. (Dr. McIntosh also sews so she was talking about all the beautiful tote bags we all sew. I could just see the most recent bag I made my granddaughter for Christmas.) Then she went on to explain that the most efficient use of your bag is not to just throw everything in the bottom. Rather, make lots of pockets for all the things you carry—your wallet, cell phone, photos, change, make-up, whatever it is. That way, when you need something you can find it quickly and efficiently. Life is like that, she said. You need to have "pockets" of time to do the things you need to do and want to do. In plain everyday language I think it is called "scheduling". Duh! How simple is that concept?

This conversation fit perfectly into my overall desire to make better use of my time in 2010. So I have started thinking in terms of "scheduling" my sewing time. Next week I have scheduled Monday evening and Thursday evening for sewing. I'll let you know how it goes.

Annual ASG Christmas Dinner

2009-12-09T17:08:00.000-06:00

Here is the small wallet I made for the ASG neighborhood group Christmas gift exchange. I've never made anything like this before. I had trouble only because I usually peruse the guide sheet and take off. This project made me s-l-o-w down, read every word and not get ahead of myself. It was quick and fairly easy. I loved the fabric choices.

I made my own bias binding using the Clover Bias Tape Maker. I used the 3/4" tape maker and it worked really well. It gave just enough extra room to wrap the multiple layers of the wallet.

I have been busy knitting and sewing other Christmas gifts and hope to post some pictures soon. I decided it would be o.k. to post the DGK items since they don't read my blog. So I'll take photos and get them up in the next day or so.

A Visit to a Quilt Store

2009-11-19T15:53:00.001-06:00

I need to make a small handmade item for a gift exchange in a couple of weeks. At the Sewing & Quilting Expo in Schaumburg IL last week I came across a wallet pattern to sew from quilting cotton. It seemed perfect. So today I visited The Quilted Fox in search of some great fabric. This was a delightful store with 4,000 bolts of fabric. Marsha helped me pick some great fabric. She was very warm and friendly. We chatted a bit; I told her my one and only quilting story (see previous post) and she laughed. I told her that I was strictly a garment sewer and a knitter. She revealed that she used to do both those things also. Now she quilts obsessively. She showed me the quilt you make in their Learn to Piece class and how you learn to machine quilt in another class. I ended up telling her I would definitely give the classes some thought. But even if I decide against taking the classes, I will definitely visit this store again anytime I need great cotton fabric.

Boring!

2009-11-18T19:07:00.001-06:00

I was so bored at work today that I left 2-1/2 hours early (I work from home) and headed up to the sewing studio. I am usually a very neat and tidy seamstress but things have gotten out of hand while I have been traveling so much the last month or so. But I pretty much have things all tidied up tonight.

You Can Start Every Monday…

2009-11-16T14:00:00.000-06:00

so says Dr. Rosenfeld. Of course, he's talking about making healthy choices in your life, but hey, if it works for health, why not for blogging.

I just returned from the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Schaumburg IL. I worked for my friend Londa @ Londa's Creative Sewing. We had a wonderful time! I love spending time not only with my friend, but all the people you meet and befriend at shows like this. The added bonus for this trip was I stayed with my daughter and son-in-law and four absolutely awesome grandchildren! I was very happy to share when my favorite youngest granddaughter preferred curling up on Londa's lap rather than mine. Londa doesn't have a granddaughter (just a very handsome grandson) so she reveled in all the little girl love.

I found the most awesome brand new vendor at the Expo, Textile Lifestyle. This is a brand new, family-owned business focusing on gift items for all kinds of fiber artists. They have coffee mugs, mouse pads, note pads, note cards, magnets--all kinds of cool gift items to give, or, better yet, buy for yourself! The thing that makes these items so great is the images they use. They are beautiful full color, professionally photographed images from different fiber artist venues, knitting, yarn, sewing, quilting, etc. Take a look. You will fall in love with these items just like I did. I picked up the mouse pad, note cards and a magnet at the show. And I just placed an order for some other things at their website.

I haven't been slacking during the past month. I have been busy knitting and sewing Christmas gifts. Unfortunately I can't reveal them here since some of the gift recipients read this blog. (Thank you, dear children!) I have almost all the gifts completed so I can get back to knitting and sewing for me! (You know, one of my very favorite songs is by Toby Keith, "I Wanna Talk About Me".)

Houston Quilt Festival

2009-10-11T04:04:00.000-05:00

I leave today to travel to Houston for the Quilt Festival. I'll be working with my friend Londa at her booth, #650. If you are there, drop by and see us!

What I Did on my Labor Day Weekend Vacation Part 1 or, The Incredible Shrinking UFOs

2009-09-21T16:36:00.000-05:00

After having a very productive sew-a-thon over the Labor Day Weekend I spent most of the remaining week in Migraineville. Even though I was down & out with the worst migraine I have had in probably a year, I sewed some during the less painful moments. Here are 2 more completed UFOs.

Placemats: I need to invest in carbon dating for most of my UFOs and these placemats were no exception. The scrap of fabric was dated 1987 along the selvage. As I finish all these projects I sometimes shake my head and wonder (again), “What was I thinking?” There are 3 placemats in this project. What’s up with that? And, the colors do not now, nor did they ever, go with my kitchen colors. Hmmm.

One thing about I like about working on these UFO projects is the freedom to try out something new. If it doesn’t work out, it isn’t a very big deal. So for these placemats I used decorative thread to machine quilt a lot of the designs. What’s the big deal you ask? I am very late to the game with decorative thread. For some reason I have been unable to wrap my head around the fact that decorative threads can be used by anyone, not just embroidery machine operators. (I know. Sometimes that blonde hair really gets in my way!) So I picked up 3 different decorative threads to use on this project—just to see how they performed and looked.

The blue was Sulky 40 wt., red was Gutterman Topstitching thread 40 wt., and the tan was Coats & Clark 40 wt. rayon. I honestly don’t know very much about decorative threads. All 3 of these threads worked well in my Bernina. I did adjust the tension and used a topstitching needle. But they all worked well and look good.

I'm planning a separate post about the Pilgram couple.

Long Time No Post

2009-09-21T16:17:00.001-05:00

I had a couple of rough weeks. I spent most of Labor Day Weekend and the next several days with a severe, debilitating migraine. Then I was behind at work and had to play catch up. I have several updates to post from that time period. But here is what I did this past week end.

This is KwikSew 3617 view A. (My photographer has not been very cooperative. My apologies for the photo.) The fabric is from my stash. It is a very soft, beautiful cotton knit, almost silky. It is too warm to wear a long-sleeve T, but this is going to be fabulous when it gets a little cooler.

The pattern went together easily. KwikSew has great directions. And yes, I will be making this again. It is basic enough that I could have it in several colors. I'll be checking the stash for other appropriate fabrics.

I Just Love Surprises!

2009-09-03T13:47:00.000-05:00

I recently received a post card with a couple of coupons from Jo-Ann's. It was kinda clever. It had a picture of bolts of fabric on it. The copy said something like "Soon Wal-Mart won't carry fabric. But we do-It's in our name". I quit shopping at Jo-Ann's a couple of years ago because the store was always messy, dirty, unorganized and the employees were surly. I am blessed to have a decent Hancock's nearby and a couple of really nice LFSs. As I mentioned earlier, I visited Jo-Ann's as a last ditch effort to look for trim for my Chanel-style jacket. I returned to the store today to purchase the trim and was pleasantly surprised by the employees' helpfulness and the general state of the store.

This store has been cleaned up and completely reset. It is neat and tidy and well organized. The fabrics are typical chain store quality, but they had a nice inventory--and it wasn't all fleece. The fashion fabrics were on one side of the store, quilting fabrics along the back wall. Needlework (knitting, crocheting, cross-stitch, etc.) items were grouped together in multiple aisles. Other crafts were grouped together in a similar fashion. Unlike several years ago, there was plenty of stock even with the items that were on sale.

When I stepped up to the cutting table to have my trim measured and cut, I was a little short of what I need. The clerk volunteered that the trim I selected was carried in most stores. She suggested that I check other stores in the metro area, or if I could wait, they would receive more of this trim in a couple of weeks. Oh my goodness! Was this a Jo-Ann's employee actually being helpful?

At the check out counter I separated my goodies into 2 piles so I could use 2 different coupons. Again, the clerk here was helpful. She politely asked why I was splitting my purchase. When I explained the coupons she told me I could use both coupons on the same purchase--the register would figure out the discounts. Wow! Polite & helpful! I can't count how many times in the past I was told I couldn't combine multiple coupons on the same receipt; each coupon had to be a separate purchase.

I have criticized Jo-Ann's in the past for being a sub-par fabric & craft store. They seem to have found their footing and are looking good--at least in my neighborhood store. I hope every other Jo-Ann's shopper has the same pleasant experience I did.

Color Me Confident--Not!

2009-09-02T13:06:00.000-05:00

Cindy's post at Mid-Life Meandering about the book Color Me Confident (CMC) captured my interest. You would think that with the many books I have read about wardrobe color and style it would be second nature to me and everything in my closet would be exactly right for me. It's not. In fact, I've been feeling unhappy about my appearance recently. So I splurged & purchased the book. It is very similar to Color Me Beautiful's Looking Your Best. (CMB) Which I found reassuring. In CMB I am a Cool Summer and in CMC I am Light & Cool. Both palettes are basically the same. I never felt quite comfortable with CMB's body type. I am a Curved Pear which comes close, but not exactly. I like CMC's body shape of Full Hourglass much better. It describes my body pretty good.

CMB classifies me as a Classic style which I always thought was correct (if only I actually worked in an office as opposed to at home.) But here is where I was really taken aback. According to CMC's style quiz I am definitely a Natural with only a little Classic tendency. I'm shocked. When I reviewed the list of "Famous Naturals" I really don’t (at least I didn't) think I dressed like Julia Roberts, Steffi Graf, Vanessa Redgrave or Kate Winslet. My impression of these women is that they dress very casually, often in jeans and t-shirts--not sloppy but very laid back. Oh gee! That describes how I've been dressing lately. It was like a slap in the face.

There isn't anything wrong with being a Natural. It's just not the image I want to project. I love beautiful, tailored clothing. Nothing makes my heart go pitter-patter more than a wool blazer. I love how beautifully tailored wool slacks lift my spirits and make me feel beautiful. When I looked at the style characteristics of the Classic style in CMC-it was much more in line with my goals. Timeless & elegant, smart & understated. This is how I want to look.

I've gone through some major personal changes over the last few years, all for the better. But somewhere along the way I lost my style. I believe I used to be much more of Classic style dresser. I'm sure of it. (But I think I'll ask my daughters for their opinion.) But no matter. I know where I want to go now and I will be reworking/sewing my wardrobe in that direction.

National Sewing Month!

2009-09-01T10:07:00.001-05:00

It's National Sewing Month! Come on, everyone. Let's sew!

A Look Inside My Lull

2009-08-31T12:23:00.000-05:00

There was a lull in sewing last week for a couple of reasons, the heat and poor sleep. I am at that peri-menopausal point where I have a really difficult time sleeping. I'm usually hot which is a problem because DH's heart medicine makes him cold. This combination usually finds me asleep on the couch in the cool bar basement or in the guest bed with the overhead fan on high. Plus, even if I'm comfortable temperature-wise, sometimes I can't get to sleep or I can't stay asleep or I wake up in the middle of the night unable to get back to sleep. The result is that I'm tired, sluggish and unmotivated to do much.

Add to the sleep issue hot & humid temperatures and I lost several days of sewing. We've had such great unseasonably cool weather that last couple of weeks that I was caught off guard when we had 2 days around 90 degrees with typical August humidity. Thinking I would just make it through was a mistake. Although my office was o.k. (It is in the basement.) my sewing studio was miserable. The weekend brought yard and house work.

But all was not lost. Wednesday I spent most of the day with my youngest daughter, Chef M. (Technically she's not a chef but she's working on it!) We met for coffee then hit the last day of the YMCA book fair. Books were $10 for any size box you could carry. Chef M. found some cookbooks along with some sci-fi novels for her SO. I found these items. The Stitch by Stitch book has a variety of knit, crochet, & sewing projects. I purchased it for the knitted lace baby blanket project. There is an interesting needlepoint/cross stitch Santa in the Holidays in Cross Stitch book. And the tailoring book is from Palmer/Pletsch, always a good resource.

Chef M and I hit the local Goodwill store also. In addition to be a talented cook, she also has the knack of finding great buys at thrift shops. I have lost count of the number of times I have commented and her clothes and her reply is she got it at Goodwill. I'm looking for a man's brown cardigan I can use in the needle felting project from the current issue of Sew Stylish. No luck that day, but I'll keep checking back.

I spent a lot of time this past week searching for the trim for my Chanel-style jacket I'm working on. Here is my fabric. The variegated cross yarn can be pulled out easily. So I tried braiding it, weaving it, crocheting it and knitting an I-cord. Nope. Didn't look right. So I purchased lots of samples of trims from a LFS. They were too wide, too narrow, too plain, too intricate. I tried black, white & black & white. I considered grosgrain ribbon, petersham, (I was amazed that the manager of the LFS did not know the difference between petersham and grosgrain ribbon. How sad.) satin ribbon, silk bias ribbon. I spent hours looking at trims on the Internet. Nothing really seemed right.
Then yesterday as really a last ditch effort I stopped in at Jo-Ann's and bought about 6 or 8 more samples of trim. Lo and behold, one of them looks really good, and I am trying out adding the variegated yarn from the fabric. I should have a sample by the middle of the week. I'm so excited!

Just need to make buttonholes and sew on the buttons of my Bells shirt and it will be finished. I hope to do that this evening.

Disappearing UFO's

2009-08-24T14:03:00.000-05:00

Here are 2 completed UFO's.

The one on the left was driving me crazy about the buttons. Hence, the time in the button box yesterday.

The Home Sweet Home is cross stitched on paper. The stitching has been completed for years. I was trying to figure out the "best" framing for it. I found this frame recently and decided to "just do it". The frame has a history. It hung above the couch (along with 4 others) in my childhood home. The frames held pictures of me and my four brothers. I'm not sure how I ended up with 3 of the frames, where the other frame is, nor where the pictures went, but it brings back good memories.

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

2009-08-24T08:03:00.000-05:00

I spent time yesterday studying my button box. I was looking for some buttons for my current UFO project and became captivated by the variety of buttons I possess. I could easily become a pat rack. I fight the urge to save every little scrap of fabric no matter how small. I have spools of half used thread dating back to my high school days. (I don't use it in my sewing machine, but I do baste with it.) So it's no surprise I have buttons 30+ years old. I also received my DMIL's button tin when she died. Most of my buttons are singles. I save every "extra" button from clothes I purchase. But yesterday I discovered a lot of matching buttons.

Most of the matches were in 3's or 4's.
Most of the matches were large buttons, 1" or more in diameter.
Several of the matches had lots of buttons, 10 or more.

I found 3 really large buttons, 2" dia., with squirrels on them. (These were in my DMIL's collection. Hmm, I wonder what she put those on?) And several groups from her tin had sparkly stones on them. I am really curious about these since DMIL was very much a down-to-earth, utilitarian kind of person.

Pictured here are 2 groups of buttons that really caught my attention. The first is the pink group. There are 50 of these little pink buttons. I would love to hear their story. I can't imagine any garment needing 50 buttons. Why so many? Did she use the same button on multiple garments? And the color is out of character for DMIL. Neither her (nor DSIL's) coloring was good with this shade of pink. But I feel there must be a story here.

The 2nd picture is a sampling of all the white buttons I identified that were made from some kind of heavy "glass" or "stone" material. All the buttons (even the dirty ones) have a distinctive sheen. It reminds me a little of mother of pearl. But I don't think that is what the material is. I love the square button and really wish there was more than just this one. Also, the group strung together is especially nice. My immediate thought was a coat. I am also considering some kind of blouse or shirt using an assortment of similar, mismatched buttons. I've seen this done a couple of times and it was very striking. I hope I can pull it off.

I had a wonderful time yesterday with my button box. The buttons called up old memories and provided inspiration for several garments. What's in your button box?

P-R-O-G-R-E-S-S, Progress

2009-08-20T17:03:00.000-05:00

I've been really tired this week but I have spent time every evening on my projects.

Here's a picture of my Sewing Workshop Bells shirt. This is that fabulous silk/bamboo fabric. The color is really chambray, not purple-ish. It's a great color that will fit in my wardrobe with no problem. I have all 3 front bands on the body of the shirt. Yes, that's right. I said 3 front bands. There is a "floating" band on left side in addition to the regular front band. It is attached for about 4" at the top, then "floats" freely. It will have buttonholes so it can buttoned "in many interesting" ways, according to the pattern. The fit is still bothering me. It is better now that I have the front bands on. But I still don't think I would call this a semi-fitted garment. It's pretty fitted around the arms and bust. All in all, I really like this garment. Did I mention the fabric is fabulous?

Here is the counted cross stitch UFO I'm finishing up. I had trouble finding the right color buttons. Who knew it was such a big deal finding light and dark wood tone buttons. I just need to sew on the buttons and then frame it and it will be finished. Yeah! I like the pillow finishing shown, but darn it--I already have the frame and I don't want to waste it. (Obviously, being well organized I purchased the frame at the time I purchased the cloth and pattern. That'll teach me!)

And finally, I decided on my fabric for my Go Chanel or Go Home sew-along. I had almost decided to go with a purple/black/grey fabric I purchased at Vogue Fabrics some time back. I had the 2 yds the pattern calls for, but I just couldn't get comfortable with my choice. I checked around the online shops for possible trim and buttons and nothing really jumped out at me as looking great with the fabric. So I pulled out my swatches this morning and decided to go with this fabric. It is a wool boucle. I bought it at the Puyallup Sewing show from Peggy Sagers at Silhouette Patterns. I have about 3-1/2 yds. I can cut those 2" wide seam allowances and not worry. Also, if something happens and I need to recut a piece, I will have the fabric to do that. I feel really good about my choice. I'm excited about finding trim and buttons. I just wasn't excited with my first almost-choice of fabric. Now I need to go post about my progress with the jacket on the Go Chanel blog.

Back In The Saddle Again

2009-08-16T19:27:00.001-05:00

I'm home from my business trip and no more house guests so I spent time this weekend sewing and working on another UFO. Progress was made on each front.

On the sewing front, I started a Sewing Workshop shirt, Bells, from the Bells & Whistles pattern. I am using this very awesome silk/bamboo fabric (Did I mention how luxurious, indulgent and just plain awesome this fabric is?) from my friend Londa. I do not believe I have ever worked with a fabric so beautiful. The hand is soft, it sews like a dream, presses even better, feels wonderful on. I'm very impressed with this fabric. I should finish this shirt this week and I'll post picture then.

I guess I haven't used Sewing Workshop patterns before. I am disappointed that there aren't any finished garment measurements. I measured the flat pattern and figured I would be o.k. cutting my normal size. But--it's going to be what I would call "fitted", not "semi-fitted" as the pattern description states. Other than that, I am pleased with the pattern so far. (I'm about half way finished.) Linda Lee writes great directions, and gives great tips for a professional finish. I have 2 of her books, Mastering Miters and Sewing Edges and Corners. Both are great references.

On the UFO front, nothing completed this weekend--but I'm close! I am finishing up another cross stitch project. The stitching is done on linen over 2 threads. I was having such a hard time counting the threads that I broke down today and bought one of those hang-around-your-neck-lighted-magnifying glasses. Wow! That really helped these old eyes of mine. I hope to finish this project in the next day or so and I'll post a picture.

On the Go Chanel or Go Home front, I took my pattern and fabric swatches with me last week to mull over. I'm still a little undecided about the fabric. I have it narrowed down to 2 possibilities. I bought muslin for my test garment so while I work on that I can continue stewing over the fabric selection.

On The Road Again

2009-08-09T13:42:00.000-05:00

No sewing this past week. DD and her 4 children surprised me with a visit. It was a fabulous time. I love spending time with my daughter, and my grandchildren are such a source of pleasure. Although worn out and in need of extra sleep today, I thoroughly enjoy having all of them around!

And, unfortunately, I will be traveling on business again this week. So no sewing until next weekend.

I did manage to complete another UFO. I finished cross stitching a bread cloth. It took maybe an hour to finish up the outlining. I am surprised at how many of my UFO's can be completed with just a little investment of time. I wonder why I didn't finish these items way back when. The good thing is I get a real sense of accomplishment when I do finish another project.

And speaking of projects, I have joined the Go Chanel or Go Home sew along. I'm really excited to be sewing a Chanel-style jacket. I've never tackled anything like this. Check all the excitement over there.

I won't be duplicating my Chanel posts. I'll have other projects (aka UFO's) to write about here.

Unexpected

2009-08-02T19:10:00.000-05:00

An unplanned, unexpected, emergency business trip interrupted my sewing last week. But I was able to spend most of this weekend in my studio working on the UFO list.

I finished this little knitted purse. I knit the pieces 2 years ago. It just laid in a heap on a shelf in my sewing studio ever since. I thought it would be a snap to sew together. Wrong! Unexpectedly it took me about 4 hours to finish this. Admittedly, part of that time (about an hour) was spent adding a lining, but still it took another 3 hours to do all the finishing. I'm not entirely happy with it. It is soft and floppy. I wish I had added something on the bottom to at least make the bottom more sturdy, but I don't know the first thing about making purses and consequently, have none of those materials. I thought about just using cardboard, but decided not to. It could bend and get a crease; if the purse got wet on the bottom it would get mushy; the sharp edges might cut the yarn. I decided cardboard would not be a good choice. So now that the purse is finished I'm not sure what to do with it except MARK 1 MORE ITEM OFF THE UFO LIST! YEAH!

I give up on the machine hemstitching. I just don't get the how the wing needle works. I spent several more hours today trying all the different decorative stitches on my Bernina and trying several techniques from the book, Fine Machine Sewing. I wasn't able to come up with anything that I thought looked even remotely acceptable. Again, an unexpected turn of events. I decided to just turn a wide hem and topstitch. I think the table cover will be fine. I am disappointed that I am unable to bring my idea to fruition, but I believe reality is taking over this project.

Keeping My Nose to the Grindstone, er Needles

2009-07-29T16:18:00.000-05:00

I've been hard at work trying to finish up all the UFO's in the sewing studio. I reviewed my list again and realized that it is actually about 50/50 clothes & craft projects. Over the last couple of evenings I completed these cute Halloween witches. And, I weaved in the ends on 2 pairs of socks I knitted in the last couple of months. Next up is re-making a pair of brown pants for DGD2. They match an outfit I made for her for Christmas. Unfortunately, the bleach fairy visited them. I have them cut out and ready to stitch up. Also, I'm continuing to practise the machine hem stitching for DD1's table cover.

Weekends Were Made For…

2009-07-27T13:04:00.000-05:00

Yard Work—I've been making an concerted effort to work in my yard for several hours every weekend this summer. I'm not a real gardener kind of gal. Don't get me wrong, I want the yard to look really nice, but gardening and yard work is not on my Top 10 Things I Love To Do list. However, this spring I looked around and decided the yard really needed some TLC. So now I listen to podcasts on my iPod and spend time on Saturday morning or Sunday working around the yard. I've transplanted some plants to better locations. I reworked some edging around one bed. And I pull all the little weeds before they get big. All in all, I think the time spent is paying off. The yard is looking a little more loved.

Sewing—I find late July and early August to be sewing black holes—too late for summer clothes, a bit too early for fall & winter items. So I decided it would be a good time to work on UFO's. I went on a scavenger hunt around the studio and identified 18 UFO's. Only a couple are actually clothing items, thank goodness. Most are crafty things where the item is 90% complete and I just need to finish it up. For instance, I have some cute Halloween stuffed goblins about 50% complete. I just need to spend an hour or 2 and assemble them.

So in that vein, I completed 2 items that I actually will use in the sewing studio. One is a cover for my sewing machine. It matches the cover I made for my serger. The other item is a hanging fabric wall organizer. Right now I have these little metal basket things hanging on the back of the door to hold stuff. The problem is the baskets are just a bit too wide for that space so the door is only open part way or the baskets bang into the wall. This hanging wall organizer will be flatter so I can put an end to the little dents in the wall (which will have to be spackled next time I paint).

Knitting—On the knitted sock front--woo-hoo! I am working the ribbing at the top of the sock. Only 1" to go and I will be finished. I am so close that I took the plunge and began swatching for my next project. Details later.

Needles and Needles

2009-07-21T16:31:00.000-05:00

I am working on a couple of projects, one knitting and one sewing, one almost completed and one just getting started.

On my knitting needles I am about to finish my first pair of toe-up socks. First let me say I am not a "Knitter". Only in the past 3 or 4 years have I started knitting again and I knit my first pair of socks about 2 years ago. I just walked into my LYS and said to Hannah, "I want to knit socks. Fix me up." Wisely, she handed me Sensational Knitted Socks and sat me down to read. I walked out with the book, dpns, and yarn. I had little trouble, except they were way too big when I finished. So recently, I undid them, washed the yarn and picked a different pattern from the same book, a smaller size and started over.

Since I didn't want to run out of yarn I thought I should do them toe-up. I hadn't done toe-up socks even though I hear them talked about on a lot of podcasts and had seen them in all the sock books I have purchased. I ended up using a toe-up sock pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks book. I had a terrible time with the cast-on and Tweeted about my problems. Heather Ordover from Craftlit came to my rescue with the Magic Cast On from Knitty.com. I've been happily knitting since and am about finished. Yeah!

On the sewing side of the needle issue I am starting a table scarf for DD1. It is made from green duppoini silk. I had in my head I would do a decorative hemstitch. I bought the wing needle and sat down to work last night. Boy, did I find out there is a whole lot more to a decorative hemstitch. Right now I am doing my homework. Luckily I have the book, Fine Machine Sewing by Carol Laflin Ahles. She does a great job of explaining how to do hemstitching. I will be practicing a lot before tackling the actual table scarf. But I'm looking forward to learning this new skill.

Mending and Meandering

2009-07-19T18:40:00.002-05:00

I get a real sense of satisfaction when I look at a pile of completed mending. I don't like mending: sewing on missing buttons, repairing buttonholes, resewing seams, fixing a hole in a pair of slacks. These tasks just don't fill me with excitement. Is there anyone who really likes to mend?

However, there is one aspect of mending that I guess I actually do like. It's the ability to let my mind wander and think about all the fabric, patterns, and projects around me in my sewing studio. I can look at inspiration pictures I have cut out of magazines and plan a project. Or I can look at fabric scraps and think about a garment I already made. I can look at the patterns laying around and think about how cute DGD2 will look wearing garments made from those patterns. Mending time is an opportunity to just let my thoughts meander from one aspect of sewing to another, a time to dream and be inspired.

So while I didn't actually work on a garment project this weekend, I did spend a fair amount of time in the sewing studio. And as the weekend draws to a close, I feel "darn" good about what I accomplished.

Just Resting Between Sets

2009-07-16T15:17:00.000-05:00

A local gym is running some clever commercials right now. The set up is a question-and-answer period. In one of the commercials the "customer" asks, "I've not been working out for a while. How do I get started again?" The announcer replies, in this deep, booming voice, "Don't say you haven't been working out, say 'I'm just resting between sets.'" I love that line! It is so appropriate for many areas of my life right now.

I have done some sewing over the last few months. Here is DGD2's dress for her baptism and birthday celebration. It is a Bonnie Blue pattern. I added lace inserts in the skirt and to the angel flutter sleeves. It is made from white handkerchief linen and her initials are embroidered on the yoke. She was, of course, beautiful in her dress, white sandals, gold cross necklace and pearl bracelet. I painted her toenails hot pink to match her older sister. After the ceremony a good time was had by all at her princess birthday celebration.

DH & I met our DD1 and her family in the Smokey Mountains for vacation in late June. We all shared an awesome cabin on top of a mountain for 7 days. I made a couple of pair of shorts from KwikSew 3614. I made View A for both pairs of shorts. I really liked the way they turned out. One pair of was navy blue from some stash cotton. The other pair was a black/white cotton twill with just a touch of Lycra. The shorts went together easily and this pattern has the best fly instructions I've found. Very clear and concise.

I'm starting to think about fall. I need slacks mostly. So I'm checking both the pattern & fabric stash to come up with a plan.

Is It Really So Cold I Need Two Jackets?

2009-02-18T22:14:00.000-06:00

I usually wear 3 pieces of clothing, especially in winter, but even in warm weather. Since I work from home, I only need a business suit occasionally. So I am always looking for great, interesting casual jackets to wear over my slacks and tops. Here are 2 I finished recently.

This is a Creative Sweatshirt Jacket. My friend, Londa Rohlfing, started designing these beautiful sweatshirt jackets several years. I sometimes help out at her booth during sewing expos which is where this idea was born. I fell in love with the blue silk bias ribbon and designed the jacket around it. Because I failed to follow one of Londa's principles that you are buying fabric, not a sweatshirt, I didn't have enough "fabric" to create the jacket front I had originally envisioned. I was totally perplexed about how to proceed since I couldn't figure out the front. That was where the languishing began. After 1+ years of staring at the unfinished jacket hanging in my sewing room, it just all came together one day. Here is the finished jacket.

The photo doesn't do a good job of showing the color of the original sweatshirt. It is a beautiful grape color. I used the batik fabric to create a yoke on the back and added the blue silk ribbon to create a finished edge at the bottom of the yoke.

This is the other jacket. It is made from a brown berber fleece purchased a JoAnn's several years ago. The original Butterick pattern doesn't call for the hood to be lined, but used some flowered silk remnants to line the inside of the hood. I don't know if I will ever actually put the hood on head, but the silk provides some nice interest against the plain brown jacket.

An Up-to-Date Friend

2009-02-17T16:04:00.001-06:00

My good friend, Londa, is open for business on her updated website! (In web-speak she "skinned" her site. I learned that from DS who is the most handsome "geek" I've ever known!)

Go visit Londa's Sewing and check out her site filled with creativity and inspiration and everything you need to bring those two things to your sewing!

Immersed in Fabric

2009-02-13T16:07:00.000-06:00

I finally finished!

I have been cataloging and reorganizing my fabric stash and cleaning up my sewing room. Whew! What a job!

I struggled motivating myself to sew after the holidays. I realized it was because my sewing room was really (for me anyway) a mess, with piles of fabric, patterns, magazines, fabric matched to patterns, books, and videos all around. I am, I think, a pretty neat & tidy seamstress. I operate on the philosophy of everything has a place and everything in its place. Where I fall down is in the planning stage. I look at my patterns, then match them to a fabric. Then repeat the exercise. So I end up with, as I said, piles of projects placed everything.

Recently I was looking for a particular fabric and for the life of me I couldn't locate it. Since this has happened more & more frequently of late, I decided to put away all the piles and re-catalog my entire stash. Part of the problem with the stash is that several years ago when my fabric buying was out of control, I did a pretty poor job of keeping track of what I purchased. So I had lots of fabric that wasn't on my stash list.

So I made up a Swatch Card on 5x8 index cards and began to catalog & swatch my entire stash. Mmmm, wow, had I underestimated my stash! At first I was overwhelmed by how much fabric there was. Then I felt guilty for having spent all that money in accumulating all that fabric. But as I made up a card for each different piece, I came to terms with my over abundance. It is what it is and you can't cry over spilt milk. So I started to enjoy all the fabric. I dreamed of what would be the perfect garment for a particular fabric. I realized I no longer need to accumulate and hang on to fabric for dear life. I realized the best way to deal with all this fabric is to create beautiful garments!

I was surprised there are only about 5 pieces that are in the "What was I thinking!" category. There are maybe 5-10 more pieces that are beautiful fabrics, but just not right for me. I need to find a way to sell these. But overwhelmingly I love every piece of fabric in my stash and now that I have my sewing room neat and tidy and all cleaned up, I can hardly wait to get back at the sewing machine!

"Should've Been A Cowboy"

2009-01-28T09:54:00.000-06:00

"Should've been a cowboy;
Should've learned to rope and ride.
Wearin' my six-shooter
Ridin' my pony on a cattle drive." (Toby Keith)

Thanks to The Love of My Life I love western movies. My favorite movie channel is The Western Channel. (I also love old '40's & '50's movies, but that's for another time.) The Love of My Live grew up playing cowboys & indians while my brothers all played war games. So watching all the old westerns brings back happy, pleasant memories for The Love of My Life. While John Wayne can't be beat as an actor, my next favorite "cowboy" is Randolph Scott. There is just something about a Virginia man! I was thrilled that last Friday The Western Channel had a "6-Gun Salute" to Mr. Scott and played his movies all day. I was only able to watch a couple Friday evening, but they were fabulous!

So why am I talking about cowboy movies, you ask? Simply, too many westerns have kept me from sewing very much and blogging about my sewing. I finished my Christmas gifts and hope to post pictures of some of the clothes I made my Darling Youngest Grandchildren. But I also have managed to sew a couple of things for me (between the cowboy movies). I will get pictures and post those items also.

Love/Hate Relationships

2008-12-09T13:44:00.000-06:00

I made my list. I checked it twice. But when I walked in the door to Jackman's Fabrics this morning the list (mostly) walked right back out the door. Right there, front & center, smacking me in the face were the two cutest little girl outfits! (And, I do have the cutest little princess for a granddaughter.) I have a love/hate relationship with this store. I love the fabric and the super-wide selection of books and independent patterns, but their fabrics are a little pricey. So I shop their judiciously, especially these days.

So here is what I got for my hard earned money today:

From The List: purple Minkee for a scarf for oldest DGD and the book Sew Easy Pajama Pants to make the same DGD a pair of pajama pants for Christmas.

The rest of The List consisted of 4 pieces of knit ribbing for some tops I planned to make for youngest DGS. Instead I was thrown off by these patterns from The Children's Corner: Robin's Little Jacket and Abbie. The Abbie outfit will be darling in pink & brown teeny-tiny polka dots for the top and brown pants. The Robin's Little Jacket is adorable with some red & black Scottie fabric for the jacket and black pants. The Store had a design sheet for adding a gathered peplum to the jacket with some really cute coordinating plaid fabric. And the pants are trimmed with Scottie fabric and red & black rick-rack. I'm pre-washing the fabric right now so I can get started on these projects tonight.

I also stopped at Hancock's to pick up some flannel for the pajama pants. I finally decided on a blue/pink big flowers print, but I think I am going to have to find a better source for flannel. I never did find the ribbing I was looking for. I have another Hancock's and a JoAnn's I can check out, but I may be looking for an online source that will ship quickly.

I Think These Are Great!

2008-11-30T15:17:00.000-06:00

I was surfing around the 'net just now and found these great gift tags for handmade items. These are designed for hand knit/crochet items, but they would be super easy to create on my computer and adapt to any number of handmade/homemade gifts.

Catching Up

2008-11-30T12:49:00.000-06:00

I'm importing Christmas music to iTunes right now so I thought this would be a good time to catch up.

First, I survived the 'dreaded sales meeting'! It was way too long, way too boring and mostly, unnecessary. The Love of My Life pointed out that the meeting wasn't actually a "sales meeting" but rather a "territory business planning meeting", but, hey, 'dreaded territory business planning meeting' just doesn't have the same ring to it as 'dreaded sales meeting'. Anyway it's over for this year. The final thought I have about it is this: I was reminded yet again that when you are well groomed, in stylish, well-fitting, occasion-appropriate clothing, it can make a tremendous difference in how you are perceived by others.

We had a quiet Thanksgiving with DS and our youngest DD and her SO. DD recently started a new job as an entry level chef in a kitchen at an upscale retirement community. She has warned us all through culinary school that chefs work hardest during holidays and this is proving to be true. We ate our family dinner at 11 a.m. because she had to be at work at 2 p.m. When I asked her about her schedule during the month of December she informed me she had very little free time due to extra baking, etc. at work. I am so very proud of her. She has worked long and hard to get to this point, but selfishly--I miss the time we used to spend together baking, shopping and just hanging out.

Last weekend I spent a couple of hours looking for a specific piece of fabric I wanted to use to make a vest I had in mind. I finally found the fabric, but along the way I found a couple UFO's I decided to finish before starting something new. The first garment is a red bolero from an old BWOF. It was all cut out. The fabric is this great red, soft knit with a shiny thread running through it. Very holiday-y. Also very easy. I can't imagine why I didn't complete it. Of course, I can't even remember when I started it. Yesterday I sat down for a couple of hours and worked on it. I am ready to sew in the lining. Then turn it right side out, due a little hand work and it will be finished. I think it will look very festive with black slacks.

UFO#2 I'm not going into detail about. It is something for a special person and I'm going to work to finish that up as a present for that person. After I finish UFO#2 I will be busy with some Christmas gifts. Maybe after Christmas I'll be able to get back to the vest.

The Final Piece

2008-11-23T20:10:00.001-06:00

So here's the jacket that goes with the slacks that will be worn at the 'dreaded sales meeting' tomorrow. (Oh, I forgot to mention that because The Love of my Live was so sick last week, the meeting was postponed to this week.)

Pattern: V2919 (now out of print)

Size: 6-20 I cut my usual size 18, narrowed the shoulder as usual. The jacket fits great which is weird since the slacks were so darn oversized.

Fabric: Purple wool tweed from my stash. Originally purchased from Fashion Sewing Group back in 2003.

Description: (from pattern envelope): Lined jacket has princess seams, front and back darts, stand-up collar and hook and eye closure

Comments: This jacket is easy fitting and easy to make. No buttonholes, no sleeve vents, no attached collar make construction a breeze. It's a good basic jacket that leaves room for creativity with the closures or coordinating fabric on the foldback collar.

Hand Stitching = Couture, Right?

2008-11-23T19:36:00.000-06:00

When I first pulled out these black slacks to finish for the 'dreaded sales meeting' I was thrilled out how far along I was. The lining was in, the zipper was in, the waistband was attached…all I needed to do to finish up was attach the waistband lining and hem the pants. Cool! But then as I took a more in-depth look, I realized why I had set these aside. Somehow when I originally attached the waistband facing I missed something in the directions and had sewed it on backwards—too short on end, way long on the other.

No problem I thought. I'll just take it off and switch the ends. Not so easy, I found out. The waistband pieces are shaped and because of the fly front, there is a definite left and right side. I had to cut new ends. Then I had to cut new interfacing and fuse it. OK, back to sewing. Carefully (I thought) I sewed the waistband facing together, then to the waistband. But now I ended up with some raw edges at the zipper front. Ergh! I took it apart again. Tried again, and still ended up with raw edges. So what to do?

I folded all the raw edges to the inside the way they should end up. At first I thought if I could see how it should look finished I would see how to do the construction. Wrong! I still couldn't figure out how not to end up exactly the same. So I spent about an hour hand stitching all the seams at both ends of the waistband, then attaching the waistband to the zipper, then tacking the waisting band on the inside. So I decided that with all that hand stitching—I'm choosing to looking at these slacks as 'couture'. A much better outlook than remembering how much work they were.

Pattern: V2919
Sizes: 6-20 (I cut an 18 (my usual size) but it was way too big. I very easily could have gone down 2 sizes.
Fabric: Mystery black fabric from stash. It is medium weight, tightly woven, with a slight shine, not wool. Great drape!
Description (from pattern envelope): Lined pants have straight legs, front pleats, side seam pockets, fly front and self-faced yoke with carriers.
Comments: I love these pants even though I had so much trouble with the waistband. I really like the soft style for a change of pace. The shaped waistband seems to accommodate the extra fabric I often end up with on so many slacks. These slacks just have a great fit. I want to make another pair so I can figure out the waistband construction.

Down(graded) But (Not) Out

2008-11-23T19:13:00.000-06:00

While on my business trip about 10 days ago I received an urgent voice mail message from the sales manager spearheading the 'dreaded sales meeting'. Be still my beating heart! Could it be that he was cancelling the meeting? Or, at least changing it to a phone conference call? No, of course I wouldn't be that lucky. He was calling to tell me that the EVP of Sales/Marketing no longer felt he needed to attend our meeting and neither did the marketing manager. So the meeting would consist of just him (the sales manager), my DH aka The Love of my Life and me. The meeting was downgraded!

What? Obviously my sales manager didn't realize I had been sewing like the wind to create these two new outfits. What were these people thinking, cancelling like this? I quickly recovered realizing that I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. The 'dreaded sales meeting" would no longer be quite so dreaded—not so long, not so boring, not such a colossal waste of time.

So I arrived home from my trip ready to finish the slacks and jacket. Which I did while nursing a very sick Love of my Life. Poor guy was really sick last week. But he's better now and finally was able to take pictures of my jacket and slacks.

Dreaded Sales Meeting Sewing

2008-11-10T16:50:00.000-06:00

I accomplished a lot on my jacket for the upcoming sales meeting. This is a good thing since I realized I will be out of town 3 days this week. I am sewing the lining sleeves to the lining body tonight, then will be ready to insert the lining in the jacket when I return home Friday.

Thank goodness for poker! The Love of my Life plays poker once a month and Saturday is the night. I'll be able to sew late into the wee hours of the morning waiting up for him.

Since I will have considerable travel time for my trip this week I was figuring out what I might knit from my yarn stash. Hmm. Not too much choice actually. Socks, socks or socks? (I only stash sock yarn which pleases The Love of my Life.) When I opened up my little sock knitting bag, I found the black lace socks I have been knitting on for like 2 years! I still have not finished them! They were the second pair of socks I decided to knit. I loved the lacy pattern and the ever so soft silk & wool yarn, but truth be told, the pattern was just a bit too difficult for the novice knitter I was then. So I became discouraged and put them aside. I have periodically worked on them and they are almost finished. In the meantime I have knit 2 or 3 other pairs of socks, a couple of sweaters, a couple of purses, a nightgown, and a cardigan. So I will take them along and try to finish them up before starting on the next pair of socks.

Vogue 7264

2008-11-06T10:29:00.000-06:00

Pictures to be posted after my photographer returns home! (He's home!)

I finished my first project for the dreaded sales meeting.

Pattern: Vogue 7264; This is a Sandra Betzina Today's Fit pattern.
Sizes: A-J; (I cut an E but see the adjustments below.)
Fabric: A moderate stretch knit from The Stash. It was 2-sided, light gray/dark gray and I thought I would be able to take advantage of that fact, but I have decided that color blocking just doesn't look good on me.
Description: (from the pattern envelope) "Close-fitting, pullover top has neckline variations, optional shoulder pads and below elbow or long sleeves. Narrow hem. Close-fitting, straight or slightly tapered, mock wrap skirt, below mid-knee or above ankle, has elastic waist casing and shaped front overlay."
Comments: I really liked this pattern. Based on the measurements I cut a size E, but took in the skirt at least 2-1/2". However, the top fits great. I usually have to shorten the lengths of all my garments and I did this to the sleeves. They ended up being almost too short. When I make these garments again (and I really think I will) I will actually add 1/2" to the sleeves just for a little safe guarding. Also, I made the skirt the length I have been wearing for the last couple of years, but I think this would look better if it was just below my knees. I didn't have enough length for that option so again, I think I will add some length to check that out.
My cowl neck doesn't fall quite as softly as I had hoped but it's o.k.
Will You Make This Again?: Definitely. I like the way the top and skirt fit and they are easy to construct.

A Little This & That

2008-11-04T12:17:00.000-06:00

Wow! Did you see the Fall/Winter 2008 Silhouette Patterns Magazine? I really liked the presentation of the patterns shown on more realistic looking women. Not the typical emaciated, 14-yo model type you usually see in magazines. The clothes also had realness to them. I could see myself wearing a lot of what was shown.

I have only made one Silhouette pattern. It was a reversible jacket and I'm not sure the pattern is available anymore. I don't need the different cup size measurements like so many women do, so I guess that's why I haven't explored this pattern line. I did meet & talk with Peggy Sager (the designer behind the Silhouette name) at Puyallup one year. She is awesome!

I really liked Valerie's Top & the Wrap Around Skirt on pg. 10. Anne's Top on pg. 13 was reviewed by Ann on her blog, Gorgeous Things. The Betsy's Jacket on pg. 23 is a dead ringer for a black jacket I have and love which is looking really worn and needs to go. Those are my top favorites.

My sewing for the dreaded sales meeting is coming along pretty much on schedule. The black pants are almost finished. I just have some hand stitching to do on the waistband. The skirt and top are cut out and the skirt is about 1/3 complete. A lot of the pre-sewing work is done on the jacket. The pattern pieces are cut out and tissue alterations complete. I have finished pre-shrinking the fabric. So I'm ready to cut out the jacket I think.

I can't figure out how to update my Shelfari link. I read a lot and I visit the Shelfari website and update my reading lists there, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get it to update over here on my blog. It's pretty frustrating since I tend to be anal about those kinds of things.
I hope every legally registered American voter takes time to vote today!

Those Lazy Days of Summer

2008-10-29T07:12:00.000-05:00

Number 1 on my November sewing plan was to clean up my sewing room so I could actually starting sewing on the black pants et al. It wasn't a huge job. I'm a pretty neat seamstress. I'm one of those everything-has-place-and-everything-in-its-place kind of people. But I did have some fabric scraps laying around from summer projects, patterns that needed to be filed--that sort of stuff.

So before I file this pattern away I decided to post a picture of my creation, mostly because I just love this dress. I love the styling, the fabric, the way I feel when I wear it, the way The Love of My Life looks at me when I wear it--just everything about it.

Pattern: Vogue 1027

Sizes: Misses 6-22

Fabric: A soft 4-way stretch knit from Textile Studios; pink and black geometric print.

Description: (from the pattern envelope) "Calf length dress has semi-fitted, pleated and lapped bodice, bias skirt with inseam pockets and stitched hems."

I didn't put the pockets in because I knew I would end up putting my hands in them and that would spoil the look. The description doesn't mention the tie belt at the raised waist (both of which are easily seen on the pattern photos). I didn't think I would like the belt and I didn't think I would need the design interest with the print, but I was wrong. I ended up hand stitching the belt in place. However, I wish I had had enough fabric to make the belt double sided. The pattern calls for just turning the edges and stitching.

Would You Make This Again?: Yes, definitely. I would love to find another great soft knit like this and make a solid color version. And if I could figure out a way to make the sleeves longer, it would be awesome in the winter!

I Just Can't Take Any More!

2008-10-28T09:57:00.000-05:00

While talking to a friend the other day he commented about how uptight and anxious and I seemed. "Yes," I replied. "I am very concerned about the state of politics right now. It is just so hate-filled! As much as I love following politics, I think I've OD'd on it."

"Well," he said, "You can always quit watching the news and listening to talk radio. Why don't you spend that time sewing?"

Well, duh! Now that's a thought!

So I immediately quit watching TV, turned off the talk radio and promptly spent 12 hours Saturday doing techy, geeky stuff in my office (with the pleasant, reliable help of my techy and ever-so-smart DS). I spent Sunday with The Love of My Life. Monday was a 12-hour day at work, but I did spend 10 minutes doing some thinking-and-planning-about-sewing in my head.

I have a 1-1/2 day meeting in mid-November that I'm dreading. So, I reasoned to myself, why not look fabulous while wasting, I mean, spending, time at these dulls meetings? Seems very reasonable to me. Here's what I came up with.

I have some black slacks under construction from this pattern.

I found some plum herringbone wool for the jacket in my stash. Since purple is all the rage this fall/winter. I figure it will work great.

I tried taking pictures of the fabric, but haven't mastered the technique of photographing textiles yet.

For the second outfit, I choose this pattern and will use a wool double knit from my stash. It is a reversible knit (grey/charcoal) which I think I will be able to use effectively in the front skirt panel and also possibly the sleeves.

The meetings begin one afternoon, followed by dinner. The 2nd day starts in the morning, then a working lunch and wraps up late afternoon. The plan is to wear the knit top/skirt the first afternoon and out to dinner; the pant suit the second day.

This plan is going to require sewing way more than 10 minutes a day. But I'm very excited about these choices. By this evening I'll have a sewing plan on paper to accomplish my goal.

Does Absence Really Make the Heart Grow Fonder?

2008-10-21T18:50:00.000-05:00

It's funny how time slips away, little by little, until whoa! Months are gone and everyone is saying, "I can't believe it's October already. Pretty soon Christmas will be here." Another frequently heard comment is, "Can you believe 2008 is almost over?" But I love it most when my children tell me how close they are to 30. Just this past weekend my handsome son in his almost-late 20's was lamenting to me that he was "almost 30 and ya' know what that means". Well, I'm not sure at all what he means, but I do know that way too much time has passed without posting here.

So the Cliff Notes version of the last 3-4 months is this: Early summer brought me some really tough personal issues to confront. That done, I realized that half the summer was gone so I quickly sewed some summer clothes. In my hurry I figured I would blog about each item "later". If its and buts were candy & nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas! So here it is October. No blogging and no pictures of the cute summer clothes.

My latest excuse is the crazy hot weather we had this Fall. As it continued to heat up every day late into August and then into September and even lingering into October, I just couldn't get into sewing for colder days and my sewing mojo took a leave of absence. Now I am behind in sewing the Fall/Winter wardrobe.

But alas, absence from the sewing room has made me yearn to sew again! So I plunged right in this past weekend. I spent the weekend with my daughter and grandchildren creating a flying squirrel Halloween costume for my 11-yo DGS. It is complete except for the tail. No picture yet but I'm sure his mom will supply me with a picture to post.

Tonight I hemmed 3 pairs of jeans using this method from SewNews. Since I have to shorten all my jeans, this allows me to keep the original hem which looks really nice. I have used this technique numerous times, always with great results! I have 2 pairs of slacks that need to be shortened also. But they are lined and will take a little bit more time.

So one thing I am doing to boost my sewing mojo is to sew for a minimum of 10 minutes every day. I remember reading this tip a long time ago, that if you sew 10 minutes a day every single day you will be amazed at what you can accomplish. So that is my goal--10 minutes a day, every single day. Not 2 or 3 days a week, or most days of the week, but every single day!

The other thing I am doing to boost the mojo is posting here! Watch for more frequent posts!

Is This Too "Young" for Me? - Pattern Review

2008-06-19T17:12:00.001-05:00

I saw this jacket over on http://sew-4-fun.blogspot.com/2008/04/project-runway-jacket_21.html and just really really liked it. So I decided to give it a try.

I had this reversible cotton in my stash and used it for the contrast yoke and sleeve band. (The sleeve band was not part of the pattern. I added it to take advantage of the fabric.) So here are the details:

Pattern: Simplicity 3538 Inspired by Project Runway

Fabric: Reversible medium weight cotton

Description: Misses jacket in two lengths with yoke, collar and sleeve variations.

I think this is a cute fun jacket. But I wonder if it is too young-looking for me. I've worn it with jeans and shorts and black slacks and received compliments every time.

I don't think I will make it again. However, because it is a Project Runway pattern all the variations are independent of each other so it will be easy to mix them with other patterns. Also the pattern directions are very detailed. While this isn't an "easy" pattern, it would be excellent as a teaching pattern for a second garment.

For a one season, trendy garment, I like this!

Casual Skirt-Pattern Review

2008-06-17T14:09:00.000-05:00

I made this great casual skirt from some reversible cotton lightweight denim.

It is Kwik-Sew 3098, an oldy-but-goody pattern. I topstitched with khaki thread to match the pockets. A center back zipper. What else could be quicker to make and cool & casual to wear all summer long.

My First Dress in How Long? (Pattern Review)

2008-05-20T15:23:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to be posting my first garment! And yes, it's a dress. Just how long has it been since I sewed a dress for myself? Well, I think it was my wedding dress. I'll think on it some more, but I don't remember making any dresses between then and now. Hmm.

This is Vogue 8028. I first saw it in the April/May issue of Vogue Sewing Patterns. Erica over at Erica B's - D.I.Y. Style mentioned it on her blog, even though she actually ended up using a Simplicity shirtwaist pattern.

So here's a brief pattern review:

Pattern Description: Shirtdress in 2 lengths; collar, sleeve, skirt variations, side seam pockets, front & back skirt pleats. Some views shown with purchased belts. Instructions for a sash included.

Sizes: 8-24 Misses (3 size groupings)

How were the instructions? Pretty good instructions. I had some trouble when I attached the collar. I thought the instructions were unclear, but not having attached a collar with a stand for a while, maybe I'm just out of practise. Other than that no problems. I was disappointed that a Vogue pattern didn't have you use a waistline stay, didn't include any type of belt loop, and didn't suggest a hook & eye at the waist closing.

Fabric: Stash fabric! A lightweight woven rayon I picked up about 5 years ago from Londa's Sewing. I actually thought the fabric design was too loud for me (hence using it for the muslin), but I really like it.

Changes? I always have to narrow the shoulders about an inch; shorten the skirt about 1-1/2 inches. This is a wearable muslin for some other fabric and I think I need to move the shoulder seam forward. I'm going to ask a friend tonight at dinner what she thinks. Also, I didn't include the side pockets. Pockets are just invitations for me to put stuff there and I don't need anything else hanging around that area of my body!

Would you make it again? Would you recommend it? Yes, to both questions. I already have some blue cotton/cashmere fabric from Christine Jonson that has been aging in the stash that I will be using to make another shirtwaist dress. And I definitely recommend the pattern for its clean, no fuss lines.

BTW, I really need to find someone to take my pictures. Ooh, the look on my face. Truly I was concentrating, that's all!

Sewing Mojo…Lost & Found

2008-05-18T09:38:00.000-05:00

Several years ago I went through an emotional crisis that nearly took my life. I didn't just wake up one day and my life fell apart. Rather, gradually over several years my life collapsed from the inside. (Similar to the termites we had our house treated for recently. You don't see the damage until there is a lot of it.) Sewing was a victim of my crisis. No longer did it bring me joy. It was work, but nothing worked out right. Zippers were crooked, seams uneven, sleeves sewn in backward, buttonholes looked homemade. Sewing became a chore and gradually I stopped. I did, however, continue to buy fabric and patterns for a couple of years (and I have a nice stash of both now). But eventually I even stopped buying those things. Then I let my swatch subscriptions lapse, I quit visiting online fabric & sewing sites, I even let all my sewing magazine subscriptions lapse, except Threads, but even they just piled up, unread.

Several months into therapy I started not sleeping. To fill the nights I started knitting again after years (like 20) of not knitting. I discovered several podcasts I really liked and I would listen to them as I knitted the middle of the night away. Knitting was soothing to my soul. The rhythm calmed my brain. The repetition of the pattern met my need for order in my life. When I couldn't figure out life, I could sit down and knit a complicated pattern and feel a sense of accomplishment. Unlike life, if I made a mistake in my knitting I could rip it out and reknit it. I could fix the mistakes in knitting!

In addition, the yarn was soft as it flowed through my fingers. There was something about just touching and feeling the yarn that reminded me of something. Something buried deep inside me, something I couldn't quite reach. Knitting gradually reawakened my love of sewing. I didn't realize what had taken place until recently. But just feeling the yarn in my hands reminded my subconscious of how much I loved handling fabric. When I visited my LYS—oh my! all the colors, the textures, the possibilities! For some reason I found yarn much less intimidating than the fabric in my stash. Knitting projects seemed much less intimidating than sewing projects. And after a year or so and multiple successful knitting projects, the yearning to take a piece of fabric in my hands and create a garment surfaced.

So here I am again. Brimming with ideas to sew, shopping my stash like crazy with a new dilemma. How to find time to knit and sew since I am sleeping all night again!

AQS Show in Paducah

2008-05-14T12:09:00.000-05:00

Back in April I attended (for the first time) the American Quilter's Society show in Paducah, KY. First, I want to say I am not a quilter. But I have a BFF, Londa, who can do things to sweatshirt—well, let me just say "couture", and I was privileged to work in Londa's booth for 3 days of the show.

(I have one experience with quilt making. When my oldest daughter was pregnant with my first grandchild, my beloved MIL suggested making a quilt. My MIL wasn't an avid quilter, but she knew her away around the quilt shop. I loved to sew! I loved my daughter! I loved the grandbaby on the way! I knew I would love making the quilt! I bought the fabric. My MIL pieced the blocks and then came the endless hours of hand quilting. Let me sum it up simply—not my cup of tea! Endless tiny stitches going on forever in the same direction. Finger tips so sore I could barely hold my morning cup of java. I did not, do not, nor will I ever love, or even like, quilting. I told my other children to treat their sister very nice so she would share the quilt with them because that would be the only quilt I ever made!)

So I find it ironic that my friend asked me to help her out at a quilt show. But I had a wonderful time. And the sweatshirt jackets are so beautiful they take your breath away. This wasn't the first time I have helped Londa at a show. And I have actually "created" one jacket of my own with another under construction. I took some fabric remnants with me to Paducah for inspiration and, sure enough, Londa helped me pick the right sweatshirt color, assorted embellishments, awesome buttons and all the other stuff I needed. But the absolute best part was spending time with my BFF, talking, sharing, and just plain hanging out. Thank you , Londa!

Genesis (Not The Band)

2008-05-11T15:32:00.000-05:00

This is my first foray into blogging. With the help of my 28-year old son I'm up and running. In trying to come up with a clever title I suggested "Genesis", you know, the beginning. My son (who is very well educated and well read) immediately said to me, "Why are you writing about a band? I thought you wanted to blog about sewing."

My husband wants to know why I'm going to blog about Star Trek? I don't even like Star Trek!

So you won't find info about Genesis the band here, nor is this another Trekkie blog. I love to sew garments and I want to create a written history of my journey. That is what you will find here.

Since I failed Diary 101 as a teenager, please don't expect daily blog entries. My expectation is to post approximately 1x week or when I finish a garment.