I love reading about how to develop a wardrobe and there are so many schools of thought on this subject. SWAPs follow right along with this thinking and I feel SWAPS are more detailed than a lot of other routes. I recently fell upon this online article from Forbes which I wanted to share. It is about a basic as it gets, yet I agree with almost everything in this article except for the Hermes Kelly bag. In forty years I have gone through five Coach bags which the total cost still doesn't add up to one Kelly. To sum up the article, go for great basics, think it through, buy quality, skip the trends, don't be matchy-matchy and just be your well-dressed self. Well, in this corner, we'll sew quality and snoop shop instead.
What intrigued me most about this was the link to Eight Essential Items For a Perfect Wardrobe.
Black Pant Suit
Black Pumps
Trench Coat
LBD
White Blouse
Cashmere Sweater
Pencil Skirt
Ballet Flats
The only thing I feel that was omitted was a pair of great fitting jeans. With these essentials, just add a little color with another jacket, sweater and blouse, a couple scarves and a string of pearls then world is at your feet. Hey, you can pick up a cashmere sweater on sale right now! These eight items are pretty much in line with Tim Gunn's 10 Essential Elements with just a change here and there and Tim has no color restrictions. I guess why I'm drawn to the Forbes article is because I feel black & white basics are just a great starting point for most of us.
Since this article was in Forbes, it is aimed at business women, but the basics really apply to everyone when they are out in public. Do you ever notice the well dressed women in the grocery store look so much more sure of themselves than the ladies in baggy Patriot shirts and worn sneakers?
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
PR Friendship Quilt
PatternReview.com is once again trying to put a Friendship Quilt together. This time it certainly looks like it will happen. I had planned to make this square, and in fact even started it, last October. But, since the deadline was changed to January, I put my time into other areas. So, of course, I hurried to finish this quilt square and mailed it the day it was due to be postmarked. Procrastination at its finest. Luckily, it found its way to Deepika's mailbox in time.
My inspiration for this square is that it contains the colors of the majority of my wardrobe and stash. Boring, neutrals, but the wardrobe works well and I always have something to wear.
There are 36 1" squares that are surrounded by a black boarder. The original finished square without the boarder was a little small and less than the required 6.5" square, so I needed to add the boarders to qualify for the quilt. The square was a bit of a challenge for someone who does not do a lot of quilting. I should have planned it a little better, but I am still happy with it.
Monday, January 19, 2009
My Sewing Backstory
This topic has been circulating on the sewing blogs thanks to LindsayT. I'm a little late, but here's my story which has been brewing in my head since I started this blog.
Sewing is in my ancestry. My grandfather was a tailor, who married a dressmaker. He also had a sister who was a milliner. I never knew my grandfather since he died three weeks before my parents were to marry, but my mother and aunt kept his memory alive with many stories about him. He started his own business in Somersworth, NH around 1900. He became quite successful. He also had a brother who was a photographer, so there are lots of pictures like the one above. In the picture below, he is the one on the right with a big smile. My grandmother immigrated from Canada and ended up being employed by him. I don't know how long she worked for him before they married in 1910. Around 1920 he moved his business over to the next town in Dover and added dry cleaning as a service. During the Depression, his business did very well since it was cheaper to repair and clean clothing instead of buying new clothes. He ended up being known more as a dry cleaner, rather than a tailor as his business grew. I have his pounding block and needle board which I treasure.
Growing up, most of my dresses were made by either my mother or grandmother. Grandmaman sewed wonderful clothes and knitted lovely, perfect sweaters. As she got older, she did much more knitting than sewing, but while I was young, she made my clothes like the ones below when I was three. I was the best dressed tricycle rider in the neighborhood.
I remember the dresses my grandmother had made for me when I was around 6. At that time I was her only granddaughter, so she helped my mother out by sewing school clothes for me back when everyone wore dresses. Since both my mother and grandmother sewed, I could not understand why my little girl friends would get excited about store bought dresses when the hand sewn ones were at least as nice and usually better.
Since I was always exposed to sewing, I was allowed to hand sew with needle and thread when I was around five. I was doing hems and buttons by the time I was eight. Around that time, I really wanted to use my mother's Singer, but was not allowed to. One day when she was out and we had a babysitter watching us kids, I tried to use the machine when no one was looking. I managed to run the needle through my finger! Ouch! This kept me away from the Singer for several years. In the meantime I would hand sew clothes for my dolls. Once Barbie became popular, I had a ball making clothes for her. The pattern companies were on top of this, and that was how I learned to read a pattern, cut & layout fabric and construct clothes for Barbie. This translated very well once I was old enough to actually use the sewing machine.
When I was 15 my mother signed me up for lesson at the local Singer dealer. Two other girlfriends were signed up with me and we had a blast. I made a wool plaid skirt and a wool doubleknit top for my first project. I look back now and realize I was quite ambitious. The skirt was a simple a-line with a zipper and waistband, matching the plaids was the challenge. The top had a zipper down the back and a short zipper at the wrist of each sleeve. When I first started the lessons, I did not realize that the projects would be entered into a local competition. competition. Needless to say, I did not win the contest, but gained so much confidence in my abilities. From then on, I made most of my clothes. I would tackle anything without fear, and did not know what a wadder was--I wore everything I made. Back then I was straight as a board, so fitting was not an issue. Of course, I made my prom dress! This was the first time I made a muslin which my mother insisted upon and I'm glad she did. She also taught me to perfect my darts.
During my teens, I was fearless. One special item I remember was a flowered cotton suit that I wore to see the Beatles! That was my first attempt at a suit, I had no idea what I was doing, but I loved wearing it. I made a couple coats for Easter, back when women wore lightweight Spring coats, and many, many dresses including my high school graduation dress made from white pique with a square yoke insert and worn with white gloves.
Once in college, I sewed on my vacations and occasionally at school. I mostly made lined skirts for days and dresses for semi-formal events. I went to college at Plymouth State in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and studied business. The only place there that sold fabric was J J Newbury's. The selection was limited, but there were some decent choices among the cheap stuff (that smelled!). One dress that I remember was a green brocade empire waist mini dress that I underlined. I wore this to a Christmas party and later to a pledge dance, then lent it out to other friends who asked to borrow it. It was a popular dress.
After graduation, I sewed work clothes, mostly dresses which were more popular than suits in the early 1970's. I had moved to Boston where there were more job opportunities and adventures. For graduation from college, my parents gave me a top-of-the-line Sears Kenmore sewing machine. I was in heaven. I still have this machine and use it mostly to insert invisible zippers since it has a great foot for that. This machine did so much more than Mom's old Singer. It actually did a zigzag stitch and made great buttonholes! Now it would be easy to finish off my seams which I did and went through more thread because of this.
The winter after graduation, I took my first sewing course since the Singer lessons. I signed up for tailoring so that I could learn how to make suit jackets and chose a Vogue Anne Klein pattern. I learned so much from the woman who taught this class. She sparked my curiosity to learn more about tailoring and dressmaking. I continued to take sewing and tailoring lessons for a couple years, then signed up for pattern drafting at The School of Fashion Design in Boston. My classes were with the night school and I attended for two years taking drafting, tailoring, dressmaking, fashion drawing, and draping twice a week. I learned so much, but my second year drafting instructor was so inferior, I did not bother to return for a third year since he would also be teaching drafting to our class. I should have complained to the management, but they must of known about this guy, since most of the students in my class complained to each other about him.
Over the years I continued to take classes and attend lectures at the Fabric Place whenever the sewing gurus came to town. I was making all my work clothes, mostly suits, and became a Vogue pattern snob for several years, usually spending my lunch hour at the pattern counter of the downtown fabric stores dreaming up new wardrobes.
After my second son was born, I became a SAHM for the next eight years, did alterations and started teaching sewing at the local Joanns evenings. I learned from the alterations since I had a few high end clients with beautiful designer clothes. It was great to be able to get inside these to see how they were constructed. I really did enjoy teaching, but Joann's kept changing the rules, and it became more and more difficult for me to teach (and get paid), so I broke ties with them. I gave private lessons whenever possible and held Saturday morning classes for the neighborhood 10 yr old girls for a couple of years until they all started middle school and I couldn't stand them any longer. I haven't taught for about 10 years now, but when I retire, I'm interested in returning to teaching.
I had dreams of becoming a fashion designer, but it was hard to stop my day job (when I was working) since it paid so well and I did not want to give up my lifestyle. I realize now that I am a dressmaker/tailor, not a fashion designer, and that is the field I could have pursued. I need to work on my fitting skills, so this is the area where I need to grow and improve. I also realized that I preferred sewing just for myself and my family.
I have been reading, sewing, and dreaming about sewing forever. It will always be a part of me.
Sewing is in my ancestry. My grandfather was a tailor, who married a dressmaker. He also had a sister who was a milliner. I never knew my grandfather since he died three weeks before my parents were to marry, but my mother and aunt kept his memory alive with many stories about him. He started his own business in Somersworth, NH around 1900. He became quite successful. He also had a brother who was a photographer, so there are lots of pictures like the one above. In the picture below, he is the one on the right with a big smile. My grandmother immigrated from Canada and ended up being employed by him. I don't know how long she worked for him before they married in 1910. Around 1920 he moved his business over to the next town in Dover and added dry cleaning as a service. During the Depression, his business did very well since it was cheaper to repair and clean clothing instead of buying new clothes. He ended up being known more as a dry cleaner, rather than a tailor as his business grew. I have his pounding block and needle board which I treasure.
Growing up, most of my dresses were made by either my mother or grandmother. Grandmaman sewed wonderful clothes and knitted lovely, perfect sweaters. As she got older, she did much more knitting than sewing, but while I was young, she made my clothes like the ones below when I was three. I was the best dressed tricycle rider in the neighborhood.
I remember the dresses my grandmother had made for me when I was around 6. At that time I was her only granddaughter, so she helped my mother out by sewing school clothes for me back when everyone wore dresses. Since both my mother and grandmother sewed, I could not understand why my little girl friends would get excited about store bought dresses when the hand sewn ones were at least as nice and usually better.
Since I was always exposed to sewing, I was allowed to hand sew with needle and thread when I was around five. I was doing hems and buttons by the time I was eight. Around that time, I really wanted to use my mother's Singer, but was not allowed to. One day when she was out and we had a babysitter watching us kids, I tried to use the machine when no one was looking. I managed to run the needle through my finger! Ouch! This kept me away from the Singer for several years. In the meantime I would hand sew clothes for my dolls. Once Barbie became popular, I had a ball making clothes for her. The pattern companies were on top of this, and that was how I learned to read a pattern, cut & layout fabric and construct clothes for Barbie. This translated very well once I was old enough to actually use the sewing machine.When I was 15 my mother signed me up for lesson at the local Singer dealer. Two other girlfriends were signed up with me and we had a blast. I made a wool plaid skirt and a wool doubleknit top for my first project. I look back now and realize I was quite ambitious. The skirt was a simple a-line with a zipper and waistband, matching the plaids was the challenge. The top had a zipper down the back and a short zipper at the wrist of each sleeve. When I first started the lessons, I did not realize that the projects would be entered into a local competition. competition. Needless to say, I did not win the contest, but gained so much confidence in my abilities. From then on, I made most of my clothes. I would tackle anything without fear, and did not know what a wadder was--I wore everything I made. Back then I was straight as a board, so fitting was not an issue. Of course, I made my prom dress! This was the first time I made a muslin which my mother insisted upon and I'm glad she did. She also taught me to perfect my darts.
During my teens, I was fearless. One special item I remember was a flowered cotton suit that I wore to see the Beatles! That was my first attempt at a suit, I had no idea what I was doing, but I loved wearing it. I made a couple coats for Easter, back when women wore lightweight Spring coats, and many, many dresses including my high school graduation dress made from white pique with a square yoke insert and worn with white gloves.
Once in college, I sewed on my vacations and occasionally at school. I mostly made lined skirts for days and dresses for semi-formal events. I went to college at Plymouth State in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and studied business. The only place there that sold fabric was J J Newbury's. The selection was limited, but there were some decent choices among the cheap stuff (that smelled!). One dress that I remember was a green brocade empire waist mini dress that I underlined. I wore this to a Christmas party and later to a pledge dance, then lent it out to other friends who asked to borrow it. It was a popular dress.
After graduation, I sewed work clothes, mostly dresses which were more popular than suits in the early 1970's. I had moved to Boston where there were more job opportunities and adventures. For graduation from college, my parents gave me a top-of-the-line Sears Kenmore sewing machine. I was in heaven. I still have this machine and use it mostly to insert invisible zippers since it has a great foot for that. This machine did so much more than Mom's old Singer. It actually did a zigzag stitch and made great buttonholes! Now it would be easy to finish off my seams which I did and went through more thread because of this.
The winter after graduation, I took my first sewing course since the Singer lessons. I signed up for tailoring so that I could learn how to make suit jackets and chose a Vogue Anne Klein pattern. I learned so much from the woman who taught this class. She sparked my curiosity to learn more about tailoring and dressmaking. I continued to take sewing and tailoring lessons for a couple years, then signed up for pattern drafting at The School of Fashion Design in Boston. My classes were with the night school and I attended for two years taking drafting, tailoring, dressmaking, fashion drawing, and draping twice a week. I learned so much, but my second year drafting instructor was so inferior, I did not bother to return for a third year since he would also be teaching drafting to our class. I should have complained to the management, but they must of known about this guy, since most of the students in my class complained to each other about him.
Over the years I continued to take classes and attend lectures at the Fabric Place whenever the sewing gurus came to town. I was making all my work clothes, mostly suits, and became a Vogue pattern snob for several years, usually spending my lunch hour at the pattern counter of the downtown fabric stores dreaming up new wardrobes.
After my second son was born, I became a SAHM for the next eight years, did alterations and started teaching sewing at the local Joanns evenings. I learned from the alterations since I had a few high end clients with beautiful designer clothes. It was great to be able to get inside these to see how they were constructed. I really did enjoy teaching, but Joann's kept changing the rules, and it became more and more difficult for me to teach (and get paid), so I broke ties with them. I gave private lessons whenever possible and held Saturday morning classes for the neighborhood 10 yr old girls for a couple of years until they all started middle school and I couldn't stand them any longer. I haven't taught for about 10 years now, but when I retire, I'm interested in returning to teaching.
I had dreams of becoming a fashion designer, but it was hard to stop my day job (when I was working) since it paid so well and I did not want to give up my lifestyle. I realize now that I am a dressmaker/tailor, not a fashion designer, and that is the field I could have pursued. I need to work on my fitting skills, so this is the area where I need to grow and improve. I also realized that I preferred sewing just for myself and my family.
I have been reading, sewing, and dreaming about sewing forever. It will always be a part of me.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
A New Year -- Still Trying to Fulfill Last Year's Goals
Last year I vowed to limit my fabric purchases and sew more from my stash. The first half of the year was not that successful, especially with a trip to France and a couple sewing seminars offering fabric. I ended up sewing a little more than I purchased which is much better than other years, so I guess it was a semi-success. However, over the past six months I have not purchased more than 10 yards, so the fabric addiction is definitely under control now. As far as I am concerned, linings and interfacing still don't count towards to the stash. Recently the last remaining Fabric Place store closed this November. This is sad, but since I only use Joann's for thread, notions and patterns, it will be easier to keep the fabric purchases under control.
For 2009 I truly do want to sew from the stash. There is no excuse since I have enough fabric to make at least a couple dozen SWAPs plus more. I get inspired when I go through my fabrics, the problem is just getting beyond the inspiration point and actually matching fabric to pattern, then fitting, cutting, fusing & sewing. I find the sewing part easy, it's getting past the fitting stage.
I still haven't started the black suit jacket mentioned in my November 1 post, but hope to get going this month. My old black suit has seen better days since it's six years old. I need a new black suit. In fact, I really need a lot of new suits. The black one is a starting point and I want to plan from there.
As for the Great Coat Sew-along, I finished my vintage jacket, but the tweed coat is still a UFO. I actually cut out the coat & lining, and fused all the underlining and interfacing last September. It had been sitting ignored in my sewing area until last Tuesday when I actually started working on it again. My old winter coat is still serviceable, but I would truly like to finish this new coat. My plan is to spend the next two days working on it. We'll see how far I get. It will get finished eventually, since I don't like have UFOs hanging around.
In 2008, Pattern Review had a thread on the message board to set a goal of one garment a month. I managed to average sewing two a month plus a few home dec projects and Christmas gifts. If I can at least do that again this year, I will be happy. If I exceed that, I will be ecstatic.
So my goals for this year are:
1. Sew from the stash.
2. Sew two garments a month.
3. Post on this blog more often.
Also, my husband and I are planning to go to France again this April. Last year's clothes will work again since we plan to be there the exact same time as last year. But it would be nice to have a few new pieces. Now I need to go check out the stash to see what will work in April.
For 2009 I truly do want to sew from the stash. There is no excuse since I have enough fabric to make at least a couple dozen SWAPs plus more. I get inspired when I go through my fabrics, the problem is just getting beyond the inspiration point and actually matching fabric to pattern, then fitting, cutting, fusing & sewing. I find the sewing part easy, it's getting past the fitting stage.
I still haven't started the black suit jacket mentioned in my November 1 post, but hope to get going this month. My old black suit has seen better days since it's six years old. I need a new black suit. In fact, I really need a lot of new suits. The black one is a starting point and I want to plan from there.
As for the Great Coat Sew-along, I finished my vintage jacket, but the tweed coat is still a UFO. I actually cut out the coat & lining, and fused all the underlining and interfacing last September. It had been sitting ignored in my sewing area until last Tuesday when I actually started working on it again. My old winter coat is still serviceable, but I would truly like to finish this new coat. My plan is to spend the next two days working on it. We'll see how far I get. It will get finished eventually, since I don't like have UFOs hanging around.
In 2008, Pattern Review had a thread on the message board to set a goal of one garment a month. I managed to average sewing two a month plus a few home dec projects and Christmas gifts. If I can at least do that again this year, I will be happy. If I exceed that, I will be ecstatic.
So my goals for this year are:
1. Sew from the stash.
2. Sew two garments a month.
3. Post on this blog more often.
Also, my husband and I are planning to go to France again this April. Last year's clothes will work again since we plan to be there the exact same time as last year. But it would be nice to have a few new pieces. Now I need to go check out the stash to see what will work in April.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Visions of Sugar Plums
Since I have two sons, I need a "little girl fix" every so often and Christmas sewing for little girls is just the answer for me. I have so much fun planning and sewing for them.
I have three nieces to fill my needs. They are all cousins and not sisters so they are special to each family. The first one is 15 and totally into fashion, so I shop for her these days. (Are you reading this, Mollie?) In the past I have made doll clothes, dresses for her and when she was eleven I made her a purple quilt. These days I feel safer buying clothes for her along with a gift receipt, just in case. I will say that she dresses quite appropriately, but very chic for her age.
The next one is my great niece who is also totally into fashion. Sydni just turned 5. This young lady was picking out her clothes at one years old. It's just in her. Her mother is lovely, dresses very nicely, but is not a shopaholic or fashionista so we don't know where her daughter got this need for fashion. Miss Syd prefers dresses to pants, and knows how to coordinate her clothes. She loves to tell you what she is wearing and why she picked out that day's clothes. She also enjoys dressing her dolls and is quite the young mother to them all. For Christmas I bought Miss Syd a hot pink Ralph Lauren dress, a Fancy Nancy book and made a pink & white apron from Simplicity 3949. This pattern comes with adult and children sizes, so I think I will make one for myself, too. She loves making cookies with her Grammie Steph, so now she will be able to protect her dresses while she cooks.
Then there is the youngest great niece, Maggie, who is 2. Her Grammie Carole gave her a Bitty Baby for Christmas, so this gave me the opportunity to sew a wardrobe for this doll. Three years ago I sewed the same patterns for Miss Syd and she still dresses her Bitty Baby in them (I wish I had pictures to show). I sewed a purple dressy-dress, two sundress/jumpers, a pantie to wear under the three dresses and a pair of overalls with a knit top which can be worn with the jumpers. These were made from McCalls 4338. The bodice on the dress is lined and the jumpers and overalls have substantial facings. I used batiste for the lining and facings since it did the job without creating bulk in the tiny seams. 
All clothes have velcro closures in the back, so no little loose buttons will create any problems. These dresses and overalls take about two hours each to make, so this is not a quick gift, but is fun to sew.
I also sewed a polar fleece bunting so that Bitty Baby can go outside in the winter. The bunting was made from the same pattern as the diaper bag I created.
And I just love this bag! I used Amy Butler fabric for the outside and polka dot flannel for the lining. This pattern is a discontinued Simplicity Sewing for Dummies pattern. The instructions
could have been better, but the pattern is so cute. The outside has two large pockets on one side and the other side has a fold out changing pad. With the left over flannel fabric I made a pillow and blanket for naps. The clothes, bunting, blanket and pillow store very nicely in the bag so it will be easy to keep everything together.
I purchased all my fabrics from E-quilter. The service was extraordinary. I placed my order on Cyber Monday, December 1, and had them by December 5. The really great feature of the site is that after you place items in the shopping basket, you can go to the design board to see how they coordinate. If you don't like any of the choices together, just remove them from the basket and add more.
One of my nephews, Scott, is engaged and his fiance is now part of the family. We draw names for the adults in the family, so each of us is responsible for a gift to one other adult. My husband drew Ashely, Scott's fiance. She loves to cook, so I made her an apron which I drafted myself. I like these fabrics very much and they look quite contemporary to me. We will also include in her gift The Splendid Table's How To Eat Supper which I just love and want a copy for myself, along with a silicone spatula. I just hope she likes everything since I am still trying to figure out her style.
After I finished the doll clothes and Miss Syd's apron, my serger broke. Great timing! This forced me to make Ashley's apron with all enclosed seams, so the finishing on this apron is really thought out. I brought my serger in for repairs, but it appears that the motor may need to be replaced. The cost for fixing would be around $400, so I brought it home and my husband will take a look at it when he gets a chance. Looks like I may be in the market for a new one instead. This happened just a little too late for a Christmas present, darn!
I also hope to make pincushions today for my two sister-in-laws and my sister. Now I am off to make my Christmas cookies.
To everyone, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and may your New Year be filled with nothing but joy!
I have three nieces to fill my needs. They are all cousins and not sisters so they are special to each family. The first one is 15 and totally into fashion, so I shop for her these days. (Are you reading this, Mollie?) In the past I have made doll clothes, dresses for her and when she was eleven I made her a purple quilt. These days I feel safer buying clothes for her along with a gift receipt, just in case. I will say that she dresses quite appropriately, but very chic for her age.
The next one is my great niece who is also totally into fashion. Sydni just turned 5. This young lady was picking out her clothes at one years old. It's just in her. Her mother is lovely, dresses very nicely, but is not a shopaholic or fashionista so we don't know where her daughter got this need for fashion. Miss Syd prefers dresses to pants, and knows how to coordinate her clothes. She loves to tell you what she is wearing and why she picked out that day's clothes. She also enjoys dressing her dolls and is quite the young mother to them all. For Christmas I bought Miss Syd a hot pink Ralph Lauren dress, a Fancy Nancy book and made a pink & white apron from Simplicity 3949. This pattern comes with adult and children sizes, so I think I will make one for myself, too. She loves making cookies with her Grammie Steph, so now she will be able to protect her dresses while she cooks.
Then there is the youngest great niece, Maggie, who is 2. Her Grammie Carole gave her a Bitty Baby for Christmas, so this gave me the opportunity to sew a wardrobe for this doll. Three years ago I sewed the same patterns for Miss Syd and she still dresses her Bitty Baby in them (I wish I had pictures to show). I sewed a purple dressy-dress, two sundress/jumpers, a pantie to wear under the three dresses and a pair of overalls with a knit top which can be worn with the jumpers. These were made from McCalls 4338. The bodice on the dress is lined and the jumpers and overalls have substantial facings. I used batiste for the lining and facings since it did the job without creating bulk in the tiny seams. 
All clothes have velcro closures in the back, so no little loose buttons will create any problems. These dresses and overalls take about two hours each to make, so this is not a quick gift, but is fun to sew.I also sewed a polar fleece bunting so that Bitty Baby can go outside in the winter. The bunting was made from the same pattern as the diaper bag I created.
And I just love this bag! I used Amy Butler fabric for the outside and polka dot flannel for the lining. This pattern is a discontinued Simplicity Sewing for Dummies pattern. The instructions
could have been better, but the pattern is so cute. The outside has two large pockets on one side and the other side has a fold out changing pad. With the left over flannel fabric I made a pillow and blanket for naps. The clothes, bunting, blanket and pillow store very nicely in the bag so it will be easy to keep everything together.I purchased all my fabrics from E-quilter. The service was extraordinary. I placed my order on Cyber Monday, December 1, and had them by December 5. The really great feature of the site is that after you place items in the shopping basket, you can go to the design board to see how they coordinate. If you don't like any of the choices together, just remove them from the basket and add more.
One of my nephews, Scott, is engaged and his fiance is now part of the family. We draw names for the adults in the family, so each of us is responsible for a gift to one other adult. My husband drew Ashely, Scott's fiance. She loves to cook, so I made her an apron which I drafted myself. I like these fabrics very much and they look quite contemporary to me. We will also include in her gift The Splendid Table's How To Eat Supper which I just love and want a copy for myself, along with a silicone spatula. I just hope she likes everything since I am still trying to figure out her style.After I finished the doll clothes and Miss Syd's apron, my serger broke. Great timing! This forced me to make Ashley's apron with all enclosed seams, so the finishing on this apron is really thought out. I brought my serger in for repairs, but it appears that the motor may need to be replaced. The cost for fixing would be around $400, so I brought it home and my husband will take a look at it when he gets a chance. Looks like I may be in the market for a new one instead. This happened just a little too late for a Christmas present, darn!
I also hope to make pincushions today for my two sister-in-laws and my sister. Now I am off to make my Christmas cookies.
To everyone, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and may your New Year be filled with nothing but joy!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Phew!
Just because I have been lax in posting lately doesn't mean that I haven't been sewing. In fact, I have sewn a lot since mid July, and much more than usual. I just hope I can keep up the pace which will help reduce the stash and increase the wardrobe which desperately needs updating. With one exception, all fabrics came directly from my stash and have been residing there for at least a year and some are four years old. Here's a quick rundown.
In July I made a couple short-sleeved shirts from Cecelia Podolak's The Classics Fearless Shirt #106 making one from cotton and another from a silk print using the convertible collar view for both. I was pleased with the results of these two shirts and made a couple more during October using the two-piece band collar and the long sleeves with cuffs. I realize that the two long-sleeve shirts appear to have different length sleeves, but both were cut from the same sleeve pattern on the same day no less. The white is a very drapey rayon and the light sage is a pima oxford cotton. Different fabrics just react differently which I will keep in mind the next time I sew up this shirt. I also cut down the size of the oxford cloth shirt cuff by an inch and will do this to all other versions of this pattern.
Next up the Loes Hinse Sweater Set. I have sewn the cardigan at least five times before. This is a quick pattern. I added vintage metal buttons which came from my aunt's button stash and may also have even belonged to my grandmother. These buttons could be anywhere from 50 to 100 years old. This set goes well with the La Fred Iris skirt below and the shell looks nice under the La Fred Maia Jacket. The fabric is a rayon speckled knit that was easy to sew.
In August, Pattern Review had a Lined Jacket contest. I had made the La Fred Maia Jacket three years ago, but mistakenly over fitted it. It looked great on me as long a I did not move. Also, the fusible interfacing bubbled and did not look right. I so wanted to wear that jacket since I loved
the style. Well, by entering the contest, I got the motivation to plug away at this jacket again, made a new muslin to refit it, made several fitting changes, including lowering the bust which evidently had fallen in the last couple years. But I am so pleased with the end result and then went on to make a matching skirt from the La Fred Iris Skirt pattern in the a-line view. This skirt was so easy to fit. The suit is made in a herringbone weave linen. I used fusible interfacing in the jacket and underlined the skirt with silk organza. I spent August on these two items and other than cutting out other projects, sewed nothing else.Since I had such success with the suit, in September I decided to make another one, but in wool.
I had bought this wool a couple years ago from Michael's, however, this suit was not what I had originally intended to make with it. But I am so pleased with it and have worn it as a suit or just the jacket with a pair of dark grey pants several times already. Again, I underlined the jacket with fusible weft and the skirt with silk organza. This time I made the pencil skirt version of the Iris Skirt. When I went to the PR event at Sawyer Brook, I picked up Bemberg lining and buttons to go with this suit.
Next up, a couple of Loes Hinse Bianca Sweater tops. I had originally made one from another fabric for my trip to Paris last spring. I really liked the way this top looked on me and it is so comfortable. So I made one top from a speckled dark brown knit from my stash (which is not showing up as dark in the picture) and the other from a lovely black rayon knit I purchase at the PR/Sawyer Brook event. Both tops have seen a lot a wearing in the past month. I wore the speckled one to Sawyer Brook and the black top looks great under the grey suit.Then on to two more blouses. I had originally made the Loes
Hinse Italian Blouse when it first came out about eight years ago using a rayon jacquard. I loved this blouse and actually wore it out. Last year I came upon a similar rayon jacquard and purchased it with the intention of duplicating that blouse which I did do in September. This blouse is not fitted, but has a lovely neckline and looks great under suit jackets. Now to find another drapey fabric in different color to make another one. There must be something in my stash.The second blouse is a silk georgette I purchased at least
four years ago at a sewing expo. It has a lovely drape, but was not the easiest fabric to cut and mark. I ended up using spray starch to stabilize it and that worked out quite well. I had actually run the fabric through the gentile cycle of my washing machine and even machine dried it to get the shrink factor out, so water spotting was not an issue. I will definitely use the spray starch again when I have a wiggly fabric such as silk georgette. The pattern I used for this blouse was Vogue 7063 which I had purchased with this fabric in mind. The front has a hidden placket. I used more decorative buttons on the sleeve cuffs and flat black buttons which are hidden under the placket. I cut down the size of the cuffs by an inch which I think looks better with a drapey, sheer fabric. This blouse also looks great under the grey wool suit.Last of all, I finished one of the coats for the Great Coat Sew Along. I spent June and July fitting this pattern and cut out the fabric in August along with the fabric for the other coat I plan to
make. In September I started and finished this coat which went together in less than a week. The only changes I made to the design were I shortened the length and made single welt pockets rather than welts with flaps which looked too dated for my taste. This jacket has only a single button, so I needed to find something that made a statement. I found a two color carved horn button which gives the jacket a little pizazz and I love my choice.So what's up next? I plan to make another suit, this time in black double crepe using a Vogue Claire Shaffer jacket pattern. I'm not sure about the skirt yet, but it could be another Iris skirt. I plan to line the jacket in a silk animal print I bought at Metro textiles last year and use buttons I bought at Tender Buttons that same weekend. First I need to fit the jacket, so that is I how I will probably be spending my time this week.
Tomorrow, I plan to meet with a couple sewing buddies to fit pants using Palmer/Pletsch patterns. I have been reading the book, watching the video and preparing my pattern all week. Hopefully, by the afternoon tomorrow I'll have a pants pattern ready to be cut out in fabric.
Last weekend we attended an ASG convention in Hartford where Pati Pletsch was the speaker. She was an inspiration and such a nice person. She truly wants to help people sew well fitting clothes. Recognize the jacket?
Friday, October 31, 2008
Pumpkin People
The first weekend of this month my husband and I along with his sister, Nadine, and her boyfriend, Victor, spent three days up in North Conway, NH taking in the foliage, sites and enjoying some great food. We have done this every October for the past five years. Nadine and Vic travel from Phoenix, so this is a real treat for them--a dramatic change of scenery. As for me, I grew up in New Hampshire and went to college in the White Mountains, but I'm always happy to go back and enjoy the area.
We spent the better part of a Sunday in Jackson, which is just up the road from North Conway. Jackson is a very small, but upscale town which appears to have had a pumpkin contest. I took pictures of all the pumpkin people we found.
Happy Halloween!
We spent the better part of a Sunday in Jackson, which is just up the road from North Conway. Jackson is a very small, but upscale town which appears to have had a pumpkin contest. I took pictures of all the pumpkin people we found.
Happy Halloween!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Back to the Blog
I know I've been negligent of my blog, but I'm back. I have been sewing and promise that I will post my new projects.
Yesterday I attended the PR event at Sawyer Brook which is located in an old factory building in Clinton, Mass. I drove there with AnnB and TrishW from PR. What a lovely time we had. The morning started with everyone checking each other out as we walked in ("I wonder if she made that"). It was great to see members I had not seen since last year at the PR New York weekend, but there were many more people I had never met than there were those I knew. Barb Blom, the owner of Sawyer Brook had set up a refreshment table to welcome us and Deepika was as enthusiastic as always in greeting everyone.
Barb started with a truck show featuring various current fabrics, talking about fibre content, origin, and care. She would pass around the sample to us after telling us about each one. This took at least a half hour and I learned a few new things from Barb who is incredibly knowledgeable.
After the trunk show, we all scrambled to the retail room to search for additions to our stashes. Besides Barb, there where four other Sawyer Brook ladies, Judy, Sue, Dixie and Carol to help us. The store is set up with all the current fabrics on one end along with linings and interfacings, buttons and dress/blouse weight silks are in the middle and the back room was loaded with remnants. Barb personally helped me pick out some terrific buttons for a suit I want to make, then helped me find lining in Ambiance and thread. I also bought a lovely rayon knit to make a top, hopefully, in the next week or so. I really love fabric, but managed to refrain from overdoing it for myself as far as my purchases went. I witnessed a couple PR members creating wardrobes which is very easy to do at Sawyer Brook since Barb purchases all her fabrics with the idea of coordination. In the past, I've been known to do the same thing.
After about an hour or so of browsing & purchasing, we had a show & tell. Deepika had asked us
all to bring in the oldest item we had made. I brought an old apron I made in 1973 with Marimeko fabric I had purchase from the old Fabrications which was a store in Boston in the 1970s. I also showed a shirt I made in 1994 for my youngest son who had picked out the fabric himself (think dinosaurs) and my latest project which is the LaFred Maia jacket which I entered in the PR Lined Jacket contest (yes, I will post about the jacket). It was fun to see what others had made over the years. I am estimating that there were 30 of us at this event.
After show & tell, the majority of us headed over to Meadowbrook Orchards for lunch which was about a 5 minute drive from Sawyer Brook. We managed to take over a large portion of the restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company trading knowledge and ideas.
It was a great day, lovely weather and wonderful company.
Yesterday I attended the PR event at Sawyer Brook which is located in an old factory building in Clinton, Mass. I drove there with AnnB and TrishW from PR. What a lovely time we had. The morning started with everyone checking each other out as we walked in ("I wonder if she made that"). It was great to see members I had not seen since last year at the PR New York weekend, but there were many more people I had never met than there were those I knew. Barb Blom, the owner of Sawyer Brook had set up a refreshment table to welcome us and Deepika was as enthusiastic as always in greeting everyone.
Barb started with a truck show featuring various current fabrics, talking about fibre content, origin, and care. She would pass around the sample to us after telling us about each one. This took at least a half hour and I learned a few new things from Barb who is incredibly knowledgeable.
After the trunk show, we all scrambled to the retail room to search for additions to our stashes. Besides Barb, there where four other Sawyer Brook ladies, Judy, Sue, Dixie and Carol to help us. The store is set up with all the current fabrics on one end along with linings and interfacings, buttons and dress/blouse weight silks are in the middle and the back room was loaded with remnants. Barb personally helped me pick out some terrific buttons for a suit I want to make, then helped me find lining in Ambiance and thread. I also bought a lovely rayon knit to make a top, hopefully, in the next week or so. I really love fabric, but managed to refrain from overdoing it for myself as far as my purchases went. I witnessed a couple PR members creating wardrobes which is very easy to do at Sawyer Brook since Barb purchases all her fabrics with the idea of coordination. In the past, I've been known to do the same thing.After about an hour or so of browsing & purchasing, we had a show & tell. Deepika had asked us
all to bring in the oldest item we had made. I brought an old apron I made in 1973 with Marimeko fabric I had purchase from the old Fabrications which was a store in Boston in the 1970s. I also showed a shirt I made in 1994 for my youngest son who had picked out the fabric himself (think dinosaurs) and my latest project which is the LaFred Maia jacket which I entered in the PR Lined Jacket contest (yes, I will post about the jacket). It was fun to see what others had made over the years. I am estimating that there were 30 of us at this event.After show & tell, the majority of us headed over to Meadowbrook Orchards for lunch which was about a 5 minute drive from Sawyer Brook. We managed to take over a large portion of the restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company trading knowledge and ideas.
It was a great day, lovely weather and wonderful company.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Covered
I have been noticing that several sewing bloggers have been making new covers for their ironing boards. I have had my board for twenty years and had always bought covers for it, but lately I wanted something prettier than the ready-made ones. Since I had bought fabric last year specifically for a cover, I thought now was a good time to make a new one since I couldn't stand looking at the old one.
I first marked the edged of the surface on the old cover while still on the ironing board. This was so I could make my pattern from it. I then took the cover off the board and cut along the marked line. This line was only to indicate the shape of the board and not take any other dimensions into account.
I then made a pattern by first marking the center of the cover on a long piece of paper, and placed the old cut cover folded in half on the paper along the center line. I then marked reference lines along the edge of the cover to get the board shape on half the paper, removed the cover and then marked the surface lines and added 2.5 inches all around the pattern for lapping over the edge of the board. Then I folded the paper in half along the center line (which is also the grainline) and cut my pattern.
Since I was using a stripe for the new cover, it was easy to line up the center grainline with a stripe. I used 1 1/2 yards of fabric for the cover. Since the fabric was 54" wide, I have enough for another cover.
My board also needed new padding. I had some very old wool blankets which I have been saving and had hoped to use to make a large pressing surface. Since such a surface is not in my near future, I placed one of the blankets over my ironing board, marked the surface with a water soluble marking pen and cut around it leaving about 1 1/2 inches to cover over the edges of the board. I still have one whole blanket left plus half of the one I used, so someday a larger pressing surface will happen.
I had purchased two packages of double fold bias tape to finish the edges of the cover. Since one edge of the tape is wider than the other, I placed the wider edge underneath the cover fabric edge and the smaller edge on top and sewed in place using my top-stitching foot.
Past covers have had a tendency to move and one side the finished edge of the cover ended up at the edge of the board and not underneath the board where it belonged. I decided to add a couple ties to hold the cover in place underneath the board. I used the leftover bias tape, sewing the tape closed, cut four ties from it and attached them to the cover at the point just after where the curve of the narrower end of board ended and again about 10 inches from the square end of the board.
I marked the points where I wanted the ties, sewed them down, the folded them over and sewed them again, covering the unfinished edge and securing them in place.
I then took a bodkin and ran a cord through the casing created by the bias tape around the edge of the cover.
Then I adjusted the cording by tightening it around the board and tied the ties under the board.
Voila! Now I have a new cover and my only regret is that I didn't make one sooner.
By the way, the new SewStylish came today. I do like it and many of the clothes are based on Simplicity 2816. I think the styles are aimed at sewers in their 20's, but there is a lot of good, basic information in this issue. There are loads of ideas and inspiration along with a pull-out section on draping. Amber Eden also stated that this will be the last issue which she is editor, but there will be other issues. I just hope she stays with Threads since there has been so much improvement since she came to the magazine.
I first marked the edged of the surface on the old cover while still on the ironing board. This was so I could make my pattern from it. I then took the cover off the board and cut along the marked line. This line was only to indicate the shape of the board and not take any other dimensions into account.
I then made a pattern by first marking the center of the cover on a long piece of paper, and placed the old cut cover folded in half on the paper along the center line. I then marked reference lines along the edge of the cover to get the board shape on half the paper, removed the cover and then marked the surface lines and added 2.5 inches all around the pattern for lapping over the edge of the board. Then I folded the paper in half along the center line (which is also the grainline) and cut my pattern.
Since I was using a stripe for the new cover, it was easy to line up the center grainline with a stripe. I used 1 1/2 yards of fabric for the cover. Since the fabric was 54" wide, I have enough for another cover.
My board also needed new padding. I had some very old wool blankets which I have been saving and had hoped to use to make a large pressing surface. Since such a surface is not in my near future, I placed one of the blankets over my ironing board, marked the surface with a water soluble marking pen and cut around it leaving about 1 1/2 inches to cover over the edges of the board. I still have one whole blanket left plus half of the one I used, so someday a larger pressing surface will happen.
I had purchased two packages of double fold bias tape to finish the edges of the cover. Since one edge of the tape is wider than the other, I placed the wider edge underneath the cover fabric edge and the smaller edge on top and sewed in place using my top-stitching foot.
Past covers have had a tendency to move and one side the finished edge of the cover ended up at the edge of the board and not underneath the board where it belonged. I decided to add a couple ties to hold the cover in place underneath the board. I used the leftover bias tape, sewing the tape closed, cut four ties from it and attached them to the cover at the point just after where the curve of the narrower end of board ended and again about 10 inches from the square end of the board.
I marked the points where I wanted the ties, sewed them down, the folded them over and sewed them again, covering the unfinished edge and securing them in place.
I then took a bodkin and ran a cord through the casing created by the bias tape around the edge of the cover.
Then I adjusted the cording by tightening it around the board and tied the ties under the board.
Voila! Now I have a new cover and my only regret is that I didn't make one sooner.
By the way, the new SewStylish came today. I do like it and many of the clothes are based on Simplicity 2816. I think the styles are aimed at sewers in their 20's, but there is a lot of good, basic information in this issue. There are loads of ideas and inspiration along with a pull-out section on draping. Amber Eden also stated that this will be the last issue which she is editor, but there will be other issues. I just hope she stays with Threads since there has been so much improvement since she came to the magazine.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
One Pattern, Two Jackets
I am amazed at the people who are constantly sewing and reviewing their latest creations. I barely have time to sew, but envy those that churn out new pieces on a regular basis. Rather than dream about creating new clothes, I decided I just need to do it. One thing that holds me back is the fitting process. Once that is out of the way, things usually move along at a good pace. I guess I'm much more motived once I have a pattern I am comfortable sewing.
Last year I made Burda 8433 for the PR 2007 SWAP in black linen. I really liked the way this jacket looked and sewed up. My present wardrobe needed a casual jacket other than my denim one and this pattern was just what I needed to fill in the gap. This time I added the collar and cuffs which were not included on my jacket last year. In both cases, I left off the front faux pockets since I think the design is busy enough. Since I am not allowing myself to purchase any more fabric for now (we'll see if I stick with this plan) I shopped my stash and came up
with a bottom weight cotton in burnt orange. This color is a great contrast to many of my tops and bottoms in my summer wardrobe. I decided to emphasize the top-stitching by using a white thread and adding white buttons from the button stash to give the jacket more of a summer feel. Since I had fitted this jacket last year, the construction time went much faster than if I had never used this pattern. I finished this jacket last week and have already worn it three times. Something tells me that I will be using this pattern again when the right fabric in my stash speaks to me again.
Last year I made Burda 8433 for the PR 2007 SWAP in black linen. I really liked the way this jacket looked and sewed up. My present wardrobe needed a casual jacket other than my denim one and this pattern was just what I needed to fill in the gap. This time I added the collar and cuffs which were not included on my jacket last year. In both cases, I left off the front faux pockets since I think the design is busy enough. Since I am not allowing myself to purchase any more fabric for now (we'll see if I stick with this plan) I shopped my stash and came up
with a bottom weight cotton in burnt orange. This color is a great contrast to many of my tops and bottoms in my summer wardrobe. I decided to emphasize the top-stitching by using a white thread and adding white buttons from the button stash to give the jacket more of a summer feel. Since I had fitted this jacket last year, the construction time went much faster than if I had never used this pattern. I finished this jacket last week and have already worn it three times. Something tells me that I will be using this pattern again when the right fabric in my stash speaks to me again.
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