Sewing Keeps Me Sane

Ah Wilderness Revisited

2011-12-12T21:26:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we went back to fix the ceiling and get everything back to normal. We arrived late Friday night and while getting ready for bed, I discovered that neither of us had used the main bathroom. When I turned on the light, I found a new surprise. A dead mouse in the toilet! I wanted to flush him, but Ken decided to scoop him out and dispose of him outside. Evidently, D-Con makes mice thirsty. They are supposed to leave the house looking for water outside, but this guy decided to take a fatal shortcut. We now have mousetraps set up in the house and will return next week to check them. Say a prayer that the traps are empty and we are finished with little visitors.

Ah, Wilderness!

2011-11-29T07:18:00.001-05:00

Three years ago, Ken & I bought a little second home in the North Conway, NH area. We just love our petite maison. We stay there at least one weekend a month, often more. Yes, it looks small, but it has five rooms, 2 bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths. All creature comforts are covered and it is located close to everything.

Thanksgiving day we went to my sisters for dinner and afterward we drove up to our little house for the rest of the weekend. When we entered the house we were greeted with a strong stench! We had rented the house two weekends earlier, and at first, we thought someone didn't take out the garbage when they left, but the can in the kitchen was empty. We also found the smell very strong in the second bedroom directly under the kitchen. This led us to the conclusion that some creature got into the house and died between the two floors. Yuck! I thought it must be a chipmunk since they are always running around outside the house, Ken thought it might be a mouse. We were both hoping it was nothing larger than either of those. The smell was pretty much contained in the kitchen and one bedroom, so we closed the door to that bedroom and went to bed. In the morning, Ken decided to rip out part of the bedroom ceiling to take a look since we could find no evidence of anything in the kitchen. Well the smell was even stronger once the ceiling was removed. He couldn't find the critter, but did find a lot of mouse droppings. I got up on the ladder with a flashlight and found the varment. I saw two little mouse ears peaking out from under an electrical wire. The little guy had got himself stuck under the wire and couldn't get out. He had not been there long enough to get messy, thank goodness, just stiff and flat. Once we removed him, removed all the insulation around the area and sprayed a gallon of Lysol, the smell improved. By the end of the day, there was no smell in the kitchen and the bedroom had a faint smell. We decided to leave the ceiling open for now to air it out and will repair it on our next visit. I guess we are lucky all we had was a mouse. We do have electronic critter repelents in the house, but this guy somehow got through.

As for sewing, I am working on a fancy evening jacket to wear with black crepe pants to a couple Christmas parties coming up in December. I cut out the jacket and fused interfacing the weekend before Thanksgiving, sewed Sunday and Monday night and it is half finished. I had sewn this jacket before, so the fitting issue was not something to slow down the process. The jacket is McCalls 6042 I'll post a picture when I'm finished which hopefully is next weekend since I need to wear it on December 12.

PatternReview.com 10th Anniversary

2011-11-20T17:49:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I attended the PR Boston Anniversary Party. About 30 women and a few husband were there enjoying each others company while treating themselves to munchies, mocktails and cake at the PR headquarters. There were 18 other such celebrations around the world yesterday. PR has grown so much in the past 10 years.

I first knew of Deepika back on Sewing World around 2001. She was always asking questions, seeking information. I do remember her asking if anyone knew of a site where sewing patterns were reviewed. Although there were a few sites that posted reviews, they were limited in their scope. Deepika decided that she would set up a site. I thought to myself "Who is this girl? She thinks she can set up a site for pattern reviews? Good luck to her!" A few days later, she pops back on Sewing World announcing her site along with a link to it. Hey, not bad for something off the top of her head! Little did we know at that time that she was a professional web designer. At that time it was just reviews of patterns, but people started adding more and more reviews, then it began to expand to other areas of review, then on-line classes, message boards, get-togethers, etc. Who knew it would become such a force in the sewing world. Certainly not Deepika.

I feel a major reason PR has grown so large is because Deepika is an open-minded, curious, friendly, risk-taking, always positive individual who has a strong love of sewing. I have been lucky enough to personally know Deepika over the past 10 years and have met many other members at various events including 3 trips to New York, seminars, and a few celebrations at her house (at one we celebrated PR reaching 25,000 members!).

Anyway, we had a lovely time last night along with a fashion show of stunning cocktail dresses, gifts, a slideshow which will most likely make its way onto the website, and great conversation. Afterwards, we went to dinner together (and had real cocktails). I did take pictures, but my camera is not cooperating by letting me download them all. But this picture did make it through.

Resurrection

2011-11-19T07:15:00.001-05:00

After a nearly three year break, I want to start this blog up again. A lot has happened to my family and me during this time, most of it is positive, thankfully. Both my sons are now out of the Marines and going to college full time--and both have moved out of the house. I love when they are here, but an empty nest is also a good thing.

My husband, Ken, has retired, but is working part-time for two engineering firms. He really is enjoying himself.

Three years ago, I started a business with two other gentlemen. It is viable and for the past six months we have been paid salaries.

We have taken two trips to France and have been taking French lessons for the past three years. We are not great at French, but can communicate. Also we took a major wine tasting tour last April in France for five days in the Rhone area. It was heavenly.

I have been sewing, though not quite as much as I want. I have also taken up quilting which I had been avoiding for fear of a new addiction. I was right, the quilting stash has 5 quilts waiting to be made. I love planning quilts, picking out the fabrics, patterns, figuring out sizes, cutting, sewing--just everything about it. I have only completed one so far, but another one is about a third sewn. I'll post my progress.

My life is good, and sewing is still a major part of it.

Thoughts on Wardrobe Basics

2009-02-07T12:46:00.006-05:00

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?

PR Friendship Quilt

2009-01-23T22:29:00.011-05:00

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.

My Sewing Backstory

2009-01-19T13:54:00.011-05:00

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.

A New Year -- Still Trying to Fulfill Last Year's Goals

2009-01-01T22:32:00.009-05:00

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.

Visions of Sugar Plums

2008-12-23T09:57:00.007-05:00

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!

Phew!

2008-11-01T10:41:00.027-04:00

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?

Pumpkin People

2008-10-31T09:41:00.009-04:00

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!

Back to the Blog

2008-09-21T11:42:00.013-04:00

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.

Covered

2008-07-29T20:44:00.012-04:00

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.

One Pattern, Two Jackets

2008-07-05T21:36:00.007-04:00

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.

True Confessions

2008-06-19T21:54:00.009-04:00

I haven't been upfront with my fabric purchases. I know I signed up for the PR fabric fast and vowed to only buy fabric when I went to Paris (or other cities I may travel to), but I have to confess that I have added some non-foreign bought fabrics into my stash.

In March, Emma One Sock had added to her site this marvelous black sueded silk that doesn't easily wrinkle. I tried not to buy any, but the pull was just too great. Besides this stuff didn't wrinkle, how perfect for travel. So I bought eight yards and plan create my next travel wardrobe around this lovely staple.

Then in April I went to the Sewing Expo in Worcester, MA. I usually go for at least two days, but this year I only signed up for one day since there weren't that many classes that interested me this time. I think that this is the fifth year I have gone. In past years, I have taken a lot of classes and did not want to repeat any, therefore, that shrunk my class options. So that gave me more time to shop--which was dangerous. I had gone with the intention of only looking, but the temptation was just too great.

First of all, Cynthia Guffey had brought a truck load of silk this time and Cynthia, herself, helped me pick out a couple pieces that she felt suited me. How could I refuse her? I bought four yards of dark purple and two more of brick red. I plan to make a suit in the purple and a jacket with the red. I was tempted to buy more, but stopped with these. After all, I really wasn't supposed to be fabric shopping anyway.

Then I came upon Wool House who I have bought from in the past. They carry truly lovely fabrics. Actually, I circled around this vendor a few times, left to look at other goodies at the Expo, but couldn't help being drawn back to this particular place. In my stash there is a great piece of brown wool/mohair blend I bought from Michael's Fabrics last year and was looking for coordinates to go with it for a future swap. That's when I spotted a brown and grey tweed which would make a great jacket. Then there was a large selection of this fantastic wool/silk/bamboo blend and wouldn't you know, some of them coordinated with the tweed. This is another one of those fabrics that doesn't wrinkle and has a wonderful drape to it. Well there was a taupe that just worked great. There were lots more colors to choose from, but I was trying to keep with my fast (really, I was). And I couldn't overlook all the lovely pima cotton shirtings, especially the grey & brown stripe and the grey shirting which felt more like silk than cotton. So I walked away with another nine yards of fabric. When I went to Paris in April, I found another piece to go with this group. I am hoping to start sewing this swap by the end of summer.

And I can't leave out Vogue Fabrics. Their selection this year was not as good as in the past, but I found a few pieces of silk twill which would make great linings and they were priced the same a Ambiance. So another eight yards (in brown, green and butter) found their way into my bag. But lining doesn't count, does it?

So let's see, eight yards from Emma One Sock, six yards from Cynthia Guffey, nine yards from Wool House and another eight yards from Vogue Fabrics. That's 31 yards added to the stash along with another 15 bought in Paris.

I also bought another six yards of lining fabrics for the Great Coat Sew Along (but honestly, there wasn't anything in my stash that went with my coat fabrics). Since the linings won't be around long enough to age, I don't think they should count anyway.

I know I have a problem, but I was good in May and only bought needed lining in June. No excuses in July, I promise. Anyway, I've actually bought less fabric than this time last year and have had no regrets so far. Is there a 12 step program for fabric addicts?

What I Wore Today

2008-06-10T13:32:00.005-04:00

T-shirt: Ann Taylor
Capris: J Jill
Denim Jacket: Jalie 2320
Hardhat: Case International Construction
Camera Case: Ritz Camera

Marilyn and Goliath

2008-06-10T12:35:00.020-04:00

No, I don't slay giants. But thanks to my husband, I had the opportunity to go to the top of the highest structure in our city which is a crane built by General Dynamics in the 1970's. It is located in the former shipyard, stands 20 stories high, 400 ft across and is appropriately named Goliath. (A word about the former shipyard--this is the place which originated the saying "Kilroy was here"! During WWII, there was an inspector named Kilroy who left the saying on whatever he had inspected.) The picture at the top shows only half the structure since I was too close to fit it all in a frame. This giant once was the largest crane in North America. Since the shipyard no longer exists, the crane has been sold to Daewoo and will be transported to a shipyard in Romania. To build a new crane would cost $45-60 Million. The Korean company bought it from it's current owner for approximately $650,000 and it will cost $16 Million to dismantle it, ship it and then reassemble it in Romania. Recycling at its best!

Ken, our son, Kenny, and I arrived at 8 a.m. and met Mike, the project manager/engineer for the dismantling. Ken has been dealing with Mike for a while and it turns out that they both earned their undergraduate engineering degrees from the University of Illinois.

We were all given hardhats, then took an elevator (thank goodness!) up 15 floors to the first level. What a great view we had. Just a little hazy, but still panoramic. We managed to get inside the center beam which was dark, but walked the entire length once we were on top of it outside. We climbed five flights of stairs to get to that point.

We wanted to go to the highest point, but once we arrived there, a couple falcons were determined to keep us from doing that. One of them started swooping around us, just missing our heads several times. We appropriately changed our minds about going to the top. It turns out that the falcons had a nest there, but the babies had already hatched. The entire family was removed and placed in a new home a few days ago, but it appears they found their way back to the crane.

The structure to remove the crane should be finished in a week or so and it will take only two to three days to bring it down.

This was certainly a different way to spend the morning.

Great Coat Sew-Along

2008-06-08T18:34:00.017-04:00

I have made all my winter coats for over 30 years and have no desire to purchase a rtw one. I have found that the coats I make are much warmer, last longer and of course, fit better. Because of past success in sewing coats, I have joined the sew-along started and run by Marji. When she first came up with this idea on her blog, I thought what a great idea--anyway I could use a new winter coat. Sewing one before you actually need it is an even better idea. In the past, I've started my winter coats in November, maybe not as bad as December, but I put myself under a time constraint.

My biggest problem was deciding on a pattern. I have a few in my pattern stash, but nothing looked right for the fabrics I had. I scoured the internet looking for the perfect pattern, checking out all the newer patterns, but also looking at all the vintage pattern sites. Then I kept changing my mind about which fabric to use since I had a couple choices in my stash. Back and forth I went. As for fabric I have a wool tweed in different shades of grey and brown, but also I had just purchased a beautiful taupe wool/cashmere coating in Paris. I finally decided that the taupe wool needed a really special pattern. Since I could not find any pattern at the moment which I felt was worthy of this fabric, it was to remain in the stash until the perfect pattern came to my attention.

So for my coat I chose the grey/brown tweed which I purchased from Emma One Sock last year. This fabric should be easy to work with as tweeds can be very forgiving. I still need to get lining, but should have that within a week. I'm still looking for buttons, too and can't decide if I want to make bound buttonholes or machine one. I think I will make both--a test bound buttonhole and a machine buttonhole--to help me decide. I also love topstitching, but think it might be lost in this fabric. I'll have to test that, too.

As for my pattern, I wanted a coat that just hit the top of my knees so it would look good with both pants and coordinating skirts. I finally settled on Vogue 7978 which should be easy to fit. I'm making the grey single breasted coat which I feel will look great in this fabric. This week I plan to start working on the pattern fitting and preparing my fabric.

Well, some ladies are making more than one coat. That was certainly not my original intention. But, hey, I had this marvelous vintage pattern and some lovely green wool I purchased from Emma One Sock (again!) which would work out great for a short coat. So if I can really get my act together, I plan to make the little coat shown in orange on the pattern envelope. I still need to find a great lining and single button for this, too. Maybe in the near future, I will tackle the suit to wear under it. But for the time being, I think this will look great with pants if I make it a little shorter.

Observations about France and Fashion

2008-05-30T21:23:00.008-04:00

This was our second trip to France. We visited with a tour group in 2001, this time we made all our arrangements ourselves. The first trip was just a couple months after 9/11. We have traveled to other European countries between these two visits and have found each country is different in its own way, but they all have similarities. They are all different from the US, but in some ways are similar, too. One thing is that no matter what country we were in, people are willing to help give information if asked. People usually were willing to at least try to understand our questions, and most of them were very patient.

On our first trip to Paris, almost everyone spoke English. This time, many fewer people spoke English with the exception of hotels and restaurants in Paris. In Bordeaux, there was very little English spoken, but we managed to get around and people were still pleasant to us. We did remember to always say "bonjour" and "merci" which I am sure helped.

Black is the color to wear in France. I arrived with a predominately black travel wardrobe, but part of my reasoning was that after 10 days, the dirt was less likely to show and it is an easy color to coordinate. I estimate that seventy percent of the women I observed had some black on and many were black head to toe. Our tour guides at the vineyards in Bordeaux were all dressed in black with the exception of the American guide. Checking out the Satorialist and other French fashion sites contradict this, but the masses were wearing a lot of black during our visit. Everyone seemed to own a black winter coat.

In spite of the fashion magazines, stilettos are not the norm. Low heels and flats were much more common. Shoes were also usually black, and lots of boots were worn. People in France walk a lot, so lower heels make much more sense anyway. I only can remember seeing one woman wearing very high heels, and she was with a conference at the hotel so if she was just going from room to room, and meeting to meeting, then the heels probably were not uncomfortable. I saw very few platform shoes. They must be on their way out.

More than half the women wore a scarf. All styles and colors were acceptable. On my first visit to Paris, I estimate that 25% of the women were wearing scarves. This time women without a scarf of some type around their neck were in the minority. The longer, colorful wool or pashmina scarf tied in a European loop like on the right was the most common way to wear one. I had brought five scarves to wear and always had one on. I felt like I belonged! but I also wear lots of scarves when I'm home.

Lots of jeans. On our first visit I could count the number of pairs of jeans I saw on one hand. This time there were everywhere. Skinny dark denim jeans was the norm. No faded, ripped or baggy jeans anywhere. Jeans are a wardrobe staple, but they must look reasonably new, not worn out. Also, jeans were usually highrise.

If you wore a skirt, you also wore black tights. I did not see any bare legs or even flesh colored stockings. This may had been influenced by the weather since the temperature was usually in the mid 50's while we were there.

The big purse is popular over in France, too. Lots of big purses with lots of hardware. The purse always looked in proportion to the woman carrying it rather than a purse with a woman attached. Purses were one items that was frequently a color and not black.

From what I saw and if France is the leader in what's ahead in fashion, these trends have either already hit the US or will be easy to adapt (except maybe skinny jeans).

Day Nine - Two Great Restaurants

2008-05-30T07:21:00.013-04:00

May 1. Our last full day in Paris. We really screwed up our trip planning not realizing that May 1 is France's Labor Day--so almost everything was closed! The little bakery we had been going to for breakfast was closed, so we ventured towards the Madeleine district, which was about a 10 minute walk, to find a place to eat. We found Cafe le Madeleine where we dined on croissants and cafe creme and viewed the sparse pedestrian traffic from our window table. It seemed that everyone was sleeping in that day and the cafe only had a few patrons besides us.

Well, this was looking like a walking-around-and-eating day, then Ken mentioned that he wanted to see the Gare de Lyon which was the station in the movie "Mr. Bean's Holiday". What can I say but, I like fabric, he likes trains. So we took the Metro to the station. It is a rather impressive station built in 1900 for the Worlds Fair, the same event that produced the Eiffel Tower. All the train stations in Paris that I have visited are very orderly and easy to get around. I have been in a number of major train stations in the US, but the French have us beat when it comes to stations. These are actually places where you can hang out which is exactly what we did. Ken's ulterior motive was to go to the grand restaurant located in the station. Le Train Bleu (watch out, there is music to the homepage link) was built as part of the station and has been featured in many movies. This place was the most elegant restaurant I have ever visited. Since we were there, we decided to have lunch and take in the full experience! This place was very expensive, but we both settled on the salmon which was 27 Euros and one of the less expensive items on the menu. It was absolutely wonderful. We both had a glass of wine, salad, cheese, ice cream for dessert, coffee and calvados. The bill was well over 125 Euros (for lunch, no less!), but well worth the price. Lunch took about two hours start to finish. I would certainly do this again. After lunch we decided to look around the area outside since we had never been to this part of Paris. We ended up at the Seine and followed it until we reached Hotel de Ville (city hall) then we walked up Rue de Rivoli. At this point, it dawned on us that we had not seen the Eiffel Tower during our visit, so on to the Metro and we headed toward the ET. This was where everyone was hanging out. Even though it was a Thursday, since it was a holiday, it seemed like a Sunday. We did not want to stand in line to go up the tower, so we just walked around it. I found the place I plan to live in my next life. It's the apartment with the red awnings located across from the Eiffel Tower.

By now it was after 5 p.m and we had dinner reservations in the 9th Arrondissement for 8:30, so we headed back to our hotel to relax, freshen up, and change our clothes and start packing for our trip back home the next day. We had made these reservation in February and had been trying for over two months to contact them. They are very particular as to the time of day when they would take reservations, so it was a big effort on our part. Ken had read about this restaurant in Bon Appetite and found it interesting that one of the hottest places to eat in Paris was run by an American. We left the hotel around 7:30 taking the Metro then walking to the restaurant. We got there a little too early, so walked around the neighborhood and found another restaurant to try on our next trip. By 8:30 the restaurant was opened and one couple was seated. In France, I guess people arrive fashionably late, too. But by 9 p.m. everyone was seated. The restaurant is called Spring and has only one seating and a fixed menu with no choices (unless you make a specific request in advance). If you check out the blog for the restaurant, there is a link to a webcam located in the restaurant. The kitchen cam has been off the past couple weeks, but the seating area is usually up. This will give you an idea of the size of this place. The restaurant seats only 16 people and the kitchen and chef are in the same room as the dining room, just located in the back of the room. This place was not romantic, but it was cozy. We were seated next to two gentlemen, one French and the other a transplanted American who had been living in France for the past 17 years. He had been trying to make reservations for several months himself. Even in France it was had to get into this place. We started off with a squash soup that was delicious, then an appetizer of gravlax and vegetables with spun sugar over it. The main course was pigeon (hey, it's France!). I had never had this before, but it tasted pretty much like chicken since it was a bird--a tiny bird of mostly dark meat. Dessert was fresh strawberries with a reduction sauce. All portions where small, but we did not leave starving by any means. Rather than buy a bottle of wine, we asked to be served a glass of the appropriate wine for each course, so we had four different wines, and of course, calvados after everything. Dinner took four hours, but did not drag. Conversing with the American and his French friend seated next to us kept the evening entertaining along with the great food. It was 12:30 a.m. by the time we left, finding ourselves the only ones on the street at that time of night. We were hoping that we would catch the last Metro train back to our hotel, and luckily we did! Since we did not have to leave the hotel until around 10 a.m. the next day and were mostly packed, we set the alarm clock for 8 a.m.

Day Eight - Another Day, Another Museum

2008-05-28T17:44:00.013-04:00

April 30. We had bought tickets three days earlier to go to the Musee D'Orsay today. This museum pretty much picks up where the Lourve leaves off around 1850. You can find works before and after that time at both, but the majority of the art at the Musee D'Orsay covers the period after 1850 through the early twentieth century. This time we did not have tickets to a special entrance so when we arrived at the museum there was a large crowd outside. The museum had already opened, but because of security, the line was slow. It was also cold and raining rather hard that morning, but as the crowd wound around the barriers, we eventually were under a large canopy outside the museum for the majority of the wait. Once inside, the crowds were much smaller than at the Lourve. The museum was a train station in another life and was considered a showpiece in its day. It still is with a beautiful clock inside the main hall on the wall facing the entrance. In fact there are clocks throughout the museum--so you won't miss the train! The main hall of the museum is quite impressive and can be seen from most floors in the building. This hall exhibits all the sculptures of the period, mostly mid to late 1800s. Off the main hall are galleries many which featured one or two artists only. Some of the galleries were actual collections and were displayed together rather than broken up by time period. The first floor galleries were all pre-Impressionists. Many times an artist would paint the same subject more than once, but each was slightly different and both would be displayed for comparison. Aside from the sculptures, the earlier artwork started on the ground floor and each floor represented the next time period. I could see the influence the early artists had on later work since some of it was very similar to the Impressionists. On the second level was a beautiful gallery of furniture from La Belle Epoque and Art Nouveau movement. There were individual pieces and then entire rooms of furniture. In one case, the carved, wooden walls of a dining room were displayed which was absolutely beautiful and must have been quite modern in its day. From there we climbed to the top floor where the Impressionists resided. There were very large individual galleries for Monet and Degas, but all Impressionists were represented. Mr. Van Gogh was also very well displayed along with his friend, Cezanne.

My biggest disappointment was that there was only one Mary Cassatt painting. Possibly because she was an American and the French certainly did dominate the place. Two other Americans were represented, Winslow Homer and Whistler (who would have expected this work to be in Paris?) We had covered the entire museum in about four hours and were hungry, but it seemed that Paris museums are not always user friendly. There was a small restaurant on the top floor with a long line waiting for seating. We decided to leave and look for a place to eat outside. The rain had stopped and we found a cute little cafe just off a side street which was run by an Asian couple who spoke better English than French. This place was tiny, but clean and quick. After lunch, we traveled to the Boulevard Saint Germain which we realized was one of the better areas of Paris--hey, this is the Left Bank! We strolled down the boulevard looking in shop windows, checking out the wine shops and stopping at a chocolatier to buy a little box of goodies. Then we turned onto Boulevard Saint Michel where we found Gibert Jeune (with the yellow awnings), a french bookstore. We spent quite a bit of time there looking at books we could hardly read! One thing about France, bookstores only sell books, but not magazines like in the States. So finding a copy of Patrones was all the more difficult. Across the street from Gibert Jeune was a little brasserie where we stopped for refreshments and did some serious people watching from our window seats. We then went down a side street and followed the street along the Seine wondering what it would be like to live here. We crossed over to Ile de Cite, then to Ile St Louis (the two islands located on the Seine). Ken was looking for an art gallery that was exhibiting the son of a friend of ours (imagine having your work shown in Paris!). Since Ken had the address, we did find the shop but it was closed. It was too late in the day, even though it was only around 4 p.m. However, we did see some of his work in the window. From there I found a shop that sold mostly scarves and a few other accessories. I had all my fabric swatches with me and tried to coordinate a few. I ended up buying a long dark red silk scarf with fringe. This went nicely with the coat fabric I had bought the day before. From there we crossed the bridge to the Right Bank, looked around the Marais district and ended up having dinner at a little bistro near the Pompidou Center. I had curry for supper that night. From there we decided to take the Metro back to our hotel.

Day Seven - Fabric Shopping in Montmartre

2008-05-23T18:13:00.020-04:00

April 29. Ah, the day I have looked forward to the most finally arrived. It was drizzling out and the shops did not open until 10 a.m. so we had a leisurely morning getting ready, watched CNN to see what was happening in the rest of the world (not that we actually cared), ate breakfast at the corner bakery and headed to our secret, free Metro entrance. The trip only took about 10 minutes, we made one transfer and ended up the Anvers stop at the base of Montmartre. Leaving the Metro, I found us on Boulevard de Rochechouart (a major street) and Rue De Steinkerque (a side street loaded with fabric shops). Sacre Coeur was at the top of the street. We needed our umbrellas, but the rain was light. First I just wanted to take it all in, looking, but not actually entering any shops. This was not a problem since most shops displayed some actual fabrics outside. Most shops had awnings which protected the fabrics, so the merchandise did not get wet. We reached the end of Rue de Steinkerque and turned right on Place Saint Pierre. That was where Reine and Marche Saint Pierre are both located and now I was ready to do some actual shopping.

We first went into Reine. This is one of the larger stores having four floors of fabric. The first floor has mostly women's garment fabrics. All the fabrics were on rolls laid out on tables according the fabric type, mostly rayon, silk, cotton, linen--seasonal fabrics. The prices are clearly marked and most tables also have a mannequin about a meter tall with a garment made from one of the fabrics on the tables. I did not take a picture, but wish I had. These mannequins all wore wigs that really did not suit them, but were straight hair with bangs covering their eyes. The sample garments were interesting, but I did not look on the inside to see how they were made. I did see very nice fabric and the prices were certainly more reasonable than at Bouchara, but there really wasn't anything I had to own. We ventured up to the second floor (or the 1st floor in Europe) taking the stairs since the elevator was no where to be seen. Up there were wools, some notions and decorator fabrics. Still nothing I had to own and no mannequins beyond the ground floor. Up to the next floor, more decorator fabrics and all the trimmings to go with them. Then up the stairs to the top floor. More decorator fabrics, but here is where the toiles were located. I actually expected a larger selection than was there, but the quality was excellent, and if I remember correctly, around 20 Euros a meter. If I were making drapes, this is where I would go. Well I did not score at Reine, but I would go back. I guess I just was not in the mindset for what was offered that day. I may also have gone back to look again had I not purchased any fabric later in the day.

Next stop was Marche Saint Pierre which was perpendicular to Reine. Another large fabric shop. The first floor again contained fabrics which were in season, dressy fabrics, cottons, velvets and everything was on rolls. Still nothing called my name. Up to the second floor and linens for the house. You certainly could use some of these for clothing. The next floor was primarily clothing fabrics, wools, silks, jerseys, lace and linings. Still nothing caught my eye. Up to the next floor--decorator fabrics and the next floor up had the really expensive decorator fabrics along with the decorators themselves. My stash was very much under control so far. Back down the stairs and on to the street.

Just across from Marche Saint Pierre, near Reine was a little shop called Le Coupons de Saint Pierre. This shop had all pre-cut fabrics in 3 meter lengths in a variety of fabrics. Some were not worth looking at, but there were treasures in the mix with lots of natural fabrics. The fabrics were arranged by fabric type and each had a tag on it identifying the fiber content, length and cost. I had brought all of my swatches from my stash, but I was trying to match a certain few. Voila, I found a great match in a 120 brown and grey wool stripe with more than enough for a pair of pants and possibly a skirt or vest. It wasn't all that cheap, but it wasn't overpriced either. The owner of the shop looked like she was around my age and was very cordial to me even though she did not speak English and my French is horrible. Credit cards say it all, anyway. If you happen to be looking for something specific, this may not be the place to go, but there certain was a variety to choose from.

Moving further down the street I found the next "coupons" store, Au Gentleman des Tissus (the Fabric Guy?) with "sacres coupons". Lots of the stores had the word "coupons" in their title, which means pre-cut lengths of fabric and all coupons I found to be in 3 meter lengths. I never asked if a length could be cut, but I am assuming they could not since all of them appeared to be the same length. This store was a little larger than the previous, but all cuts were again arranged by fiber and neatly placed on tables with the cuts overlapping each other so you could see all the merchandise. Touching the fabrics was not a problem in this shop and I found one that felt lovely, a blend of black and cream wool & silk in a small herringbone weave. This would be perfect to replace my black, grey and cream wool tweed jacket that I have worn out. The price for this gem was 30 Euros (10/meter). Not a steal, but a good buy. The owner did not speak English that well, but she did speak German, so Ken was able to converse with her. She said that the "sacres coupons" was meant to be a joke since they were located at the foot of Sacre Coeur and their fabric was "sacred".

Across the street and along that block was Moline which was a group of storefronts specializing in decorator fabrics. If they had a shop with just garment fabrics, I couldn't find it. There were lovely silks, linens, cottons, all for upholstery or drapes and all the extras that go with them. However, on the same side as Sacres Coupons, was the Moline notions shop. This store carried a variety of tassels, cording, etc for decorating, but also had the necessary notions for dressmaking. There was a lovely selection of buttons in all colors, zippers, threads, elastics, all types of trim and a large selection of ribbons, appliqués, and embellishments. There also were books and magazines, but most of them were for knitting or embroidery. Off the main room was a smaller room which had quilting fabrics, but they appeared to be the same as what was found back in the States. I spent a long time looking at buttons and was able to match some metal buttons to a boucle from my stash which is an unusual color brown. I was a happy camper.

Now I was on a roll. We walked to the end of Rue d'Orsel, turned around then walked back so I could investigate the smaller streets which we hadn't seen yet. We ended back where we originally started on Rue de Steinkerque. Now that I had a better sense of the area, this time I spotted some fabrics outside of one of the shops and started fondling them. A gentleman came out of the shop and started speaking to me in English asking me to come in, which of course, I did. He had a great selection of fabrics, lots of 120 wools, silks, linen and cotton. I noticed a staircase to the side and asked if I could go up. Sure enough all the out of season wools were there and a large selection of tweeds and boucles. An older gentleman, whom I am assuming was the father of the gentlemen who invited us in, was in charge upstairs. The older man did not speak English, but sure knew how to sell fabric. He tried to figure out what I was looking for even though I really did not know myself. He kept pulling out fabrics to show me and I would point to different bolts to look at also. This was the first place that I did see fabric on bolts rather than rolls. Everything that he pulled out, he quoted a price that was at least 20 Euros less than what was stated on the bolt. We both finally figured out that what I really wanted was a Chanel-like boucle. He kept pulling out bolts to show me, then I pointed to a grey, cream and gold bolt, he took it out, then opened it. That was the fabric I was looking for, I had found my Paris Fabric! I took 2 meters. During the enter process, this lovely man was trying to discuss the American Presidential race, so we kept referring to our French/English dictionary. He clearly was for Hillary. After he cut my fabric, I asked if I could take some pictures and he obliged. The shop's name was Galleries des Tissus and is certainly worth a visit. We said "au revoir" and up the street we went.

But not too far. There was a very small shop on the same side of the street and what caught my eye was a sign in the window that stated "Best of Paris 2007" and was appropriately named Paris Tissus. Well, I certainly had to go in there. This shop was unbelievably tiny and stacked from floor to ceiling with bolts of fabric. The front room was barely large enough for a small counter and cash register. Behind the register were linings. After this room was a small hallway also filled with fabrics, then a back room which was bigger than the other two combined, but not by much. In the center of this room was a table used to show fabrics and cut. There was hardly any space to move around, but I did not care, I was in Heaven. I was trying to match by odd color brown (how about coriander for a color?) boucle piece that I had just bought buttons. Pants or a skirt would be nice. I found a nice piece of wool/lycra, then one of the owners came over to me and pulled out the bolt. He managed to talk me into purchasing enough a jacket to go with the skirt. Then the other owner came over, asked me if I liked cashmere--well, duh! Then he started to try to figure out how much I was willing to pay and pulled out a gorgeous piece of cashmere. It was mine for a mere 180 Euros a meter. If you figure out the currency conversion on 3 1/2 yards, that would have been over $1,000 US!! I was way out of my price range, no matter how spectacular that piece was. Then he showed me a lovely wool/cashmere blend in taupe for a winter coat. This was beautiful and he was marking one-third off the price on the bolt. It must have been a slow day, which is the reason I assume that the last two shops where marking down. The picture above shows the coriander wool/lycra and the taupe wool/cashmere on the cutting table. I decided to take only a meter of the brown/coriander wool for a skirt and buy the taupe wool/cashmere for a new winter coat. My old coat is six years old and getting a little tired even though it is not yet showing much wear. They cut the fabrics and then talked me into lining for the coat, then threw in enough to line the skirt. The fabrics in this shop were unbelievable, but the prices were great for the quality. I'm sure the prices for the same fabrics in the higher-end fabric shops not located in Montmartre were much higher, such as Bouchara where the wools started at 130 Euros, yet I paid a zillions times less for what I did buy. I left poorer, but very, very happy and with new additions to my stash back home.

I had spent enough money and had a tired, non-complaining husband in tow. I had brought a tote bag along and Ken was nice enough to carry it once it started filling up. It was around 1 p.m., so we looked for a place to eat lunch and found a lovely brasserie on Boulevard de Rochechouart overlooking a major intersection. We took a table by the window to watch the locals. I forget what Ken ordered, but I had Croque Messieur, which is a French version of a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, and of course, wine since I had earned it after all that shopping. After lunch, we headed back to the hotel via the Metro.

My only regret was that I could not find any sewing magazines like Patrones or Octobre. I looked everywhere, especially the newsstands in Montmartre. But all I could find was Burda. What do the French do for patterns? Reine did sell patterns, but that was the only place I found any.

We unloaded my fabric, then out again. We had made dinner reservations for a very small restaurant in the Ninth Arrondissement for the evening of our last day. These reservations were made three months earlier, that's how popular this place was. It took us over a month to get through, but persistence paid off. We decided to figure out where the restaurant was located and how long it would take to get there via the Metro. The Ninth Arrondissement is a very residential area with great shops, restaurants, bakeries and everything else one would need to live in Paris. It turned out that the restaurant was not near any Metro so we walked for about 15 minutes until we found it. Along the way, we found a great patisserie and purchased a dozen macarons. Again, the owner did not speak English, but kept interrupting us and would not let us try to tell her what we wanted. This took about 10 minutes to buy a dozen cookies. Had she just let us point to the ones we wanted, it would have gone much quicker, but we thanked her for her patience anyway. The macarons were heavenly. We headed back in the direction of our hotel and ended up walking the entire way back taking the sights.

For dinner, we ate at an English pub located near the hotel. Ken and I were not that hungry so we both ordered large salads. Even though it was an English pub and looked like one inside, our waiter was French. This was our first experience with a waiter who told us what we were going to order. I ordered first, but Ken was not allowed to order the same salad as me even though he wanted one. The waiter told him which salad he was having. The same thing happened with dessert. It's a good thing we both enjoyed the food.

Day Six - Caught in a Tourist Trap

2008-05-20T19:29:00.006-04:00

April 28. After leaving the Louvre we headed back to our hotel to change for dinner. At the recommendation of the hotel concierge, we had made reservations for dinner and the show at the Lido. Ken put on a suit jacket and tie and I wore my Textile Studio Marseilles silk top and crepe pants with my dressy flats. We took the Metro which was about a 20 minute trip and arrived a couple minutes before 7 p.m. which was the time of our reservations. We were taken to our seats which were quite good, but I understand that the entire theatre was designed so that everyone would have a good view. Observing how other patrons were dressed, I saw everything--work clothes, t-shirts, dressy-casual, & dressed to kill. Ken and I decided to substitute a bottle of wine for the bottle of champagne which came with the meal. Having been in Bordeaux we ordered a red, but I must say after being educated in good wine earlier during our vacation, this wine was not a big deal and needed more time to age. But it was drinkable, so we finished off the bottle by the end of the meal. We ordered the appetizer first, Ken had the gravlax salad and I had the vegetable and crab ravioli. Our entrees were a white fish and sauteed lamb (which was more like a stew). Dessert was chocolate cake. The meal was fine, in fact it is good, but it was way overpriced for what we had. I will say that the service was very good. During the meal there was a full orchestra playing along with a singer who looked American and sang in English most of the time. She had a good voice, but I think she had reached the peak of her career. After the meal we ordered our calvados and the show began. What can I say, it was very glitzy, very topless, and boarderline tacky. Lots of props moving all over the place, like the mini airplane which flew the star of the show on to the stage after the dancers had been parading around for a few minutes. The singing was canned, the costumes (what there was of them) were a little too colorful, and everyone smiled the entire time (lots of teeth!). The entire show was based on the main character's idea of an ideal day. Well, I love walking around, shopping, fantasizing, but I would never expect a show to be based on that. The show was called Bonheur and that's what it was for the heroine. Since we where there for over five hours, a couple trips to the Ladies Room were in order. Pretty room, but each time I had to pay the attendant 1 Euro ($1.70) for the privilege to pee. I'm sorry, but that's just not classy. We were definitely sucked into a tourist trap! Would we go back? Probably not--if we did, we would skip dinner there and go to the little bistro around the corner where we had dinner the night before.

Day Six - Hanging out at the Louvre

2008-05-19T20:53:00.009-04:00

April 28. We woke up early so we could be at the Louvre when it opened. There was a little bakery across the street from our hotel where we had lunch our first day and decided to have breakfast there. They had wonderful croissants and coffee and a place to sit and watch everyone else hurry off to work. I had always heard that everyone in France has cafe au lait in the morning, but I did not see it on the menu anywhere we ate. But they all had cafe creme, which is coffee with hot milk. I tried to have this every morning since it was so good every where we went. There was a small subway entrance just in front of the bakery and when we tried to enter through the turnstyle, it would not accept our tickets. Then we realized that the machines were broken and we could go through for free. We did this every morning we took the subway. My guess is that everyone who used this entrance was aware of it since we saw many other people go through. They were not about to report a broken turnstyle that was saving them money. I wonder if it has been fixed yet.

We were a little late for the opening, but were there a half hour after it had opened. The crowds had not yet arrived. When you enter the Louvre you first must go through the boutique section. It's like a mini-mall, but the stores were not yet opened even though the museum was. We had been there in 2001 with a tour and had the one-hour special highlight's tour. We needed more time and decided to spend as long as we could stand it. The tickets worked, we only stood in line for five minutes, and that's mainly because everyone had to go through a security checkpoint. If you have never been there, what is really interesting to see is the foundation for the old fortress in the basement. The fortress was built around 1190 and surrounded the city (which was much smaller then) to protect it as was the custom in those times. In 1358 Charles V built a wall around the fortress and made the fortress into his palace. Over time many other monarchs added to the palace until is grew become the building that is now an art museum. In the 1700's planning began to convert part of the palace into a museum for the pubic which opened in 1793. This started with just a couple galleries, but the French royalty liked building palaces and eventually moved out permanently. What I found most impressive was the different architectures, mainly inside the building. Each gallery was ornate and different from the next. No expense was spared, different colored marbles are everywhere along with mosaics, wood carvings, plaster mouldings, gilding, ornate brickwork, etc. The building alone with worth the visit.

We made our way to the sculpture garden then found ourselves in Napoleon III's apartments. These were truly grand as a ruler's house should be. We started with the dining room. Dinner for 50 was not a problem. Then moved on the grand salon which could fit just as many, then through the sitting rooms. I found these room not that different from Versailles. Same family, similar tastes. From there we wandered from gallery to gallery still impressed with the architecture.

We eventually found our way to the Italian paintings--this is where the crowds were forming. Many had come for one purpose, to see Mona. The painting is actually not all that big but commands its own separate wall in the middle of a gallery. The crowd is usually around ten people deep, but with perseverance you can make your way to the front and snap a picture. Picture taking is allowed in most European museums. There were areas where flashes were not allowed, but pictures without flashes were not a problem. Thankfully, this was the only section of the museum were there crowds were large. As afternoon came, there were more people in the museum, but nothing like the Italian galleries.

The museum houses a large collection of Egyptian, Greek and Roman scupltures and artifacts, but we only passed through these galleries. We totally skipped the Oriental, African, Asian and American art exhibits. Our interests were mainly Western European which was the main focus of the museum.

By 2 p.m. we were starving and found our way to the cafeteria and dining rooms. Our past experience has been that museums usually have fabulous cafeterias. The Louvre was a disappointment. There was their version of fast food which was prepared sandwiches on baguettes, a formal dining room which was too expensive and a cafeteria which would also make custom meals and was the one we chose. There were lines and it was somewhat expensive, but if you were patient, you could find something that looked good. I got a vegetable quiche, fruit and bottled water. Ken ordered something that took longer. Then there was the problem of finding a place to sit for both Ken and I. I eventually found a table that was clearing out and in a location that I could flag Ken down. It turned out that we were next to a couple from San Francisco. They were in Paris for a couple days then off to South Africa. He was very friendly and appeared to be quite successful, but she was too into herself. That's her with the red hat.

After a not that relaxing lunch, we ventured back to the galleries. I was ready to call it quits, but Ken wanted to get his money's worth. We found ourselves in the Greek sculptures and there she was, Venus. She appeared to be more important that Mona since she did not share a room with any other sculptures or art. In fact, she even had a long corridor leading up to the room she was located. We worked our way through the Roman sculptures, artifacts, mosaics and reliefs. There were no escalators or elevators, but staircases were everywhere. So we climbed our way to the Nineteenth century art on the top floor. This was somewhat of a disappointment since I had expected a larger gallery. There were only two Impressionist paintings. It turns out that most of the Nineteenth century artwork after 1850 was moved to the Musee D'Orsay along with art from other museums. I did not realize that the two museums were connected in that way. If you were looking for French paintings before 1850, then the Louvre was the place to be. Especially if you are a fan of Delacroix. His paintings were quite prominently displayed.

After we felt we couldn't absorb anymore, we headed for the exit and the museum shop. The shop is on two floors and filled mostly with books. I did pick up a book on the museum, but that was it. I wanted to pick up a scarf since the MFA in Boston and the Metropolitan in NYC have great scarves in their shops, but the selection was not that impressive.

I was glad Ken talked me into staying. We saw almost every gallery and did not leave until after 4 p.m. Thank God, I own comfortable shoes!

Day Five - Transition Day

2008-05-19T18:06:00.007-04:00

April 27. We said our goodbyes to Bordeaux in the morning, and figured out how to take the streetcar to the train station rather than take a taxi. It was a Sunday and evidently the streetcars were not running as frequently as they had been during the time we were there. We ended up waiting 22 minutes for a car. Why do I know how long it took, because there are signs at each stop indicating how long the wait is for the next and even the car after that. These are also at all subway stations in Paris. I love it. I wish we had that system in Boston. It was easy to take the streetcar since there was only one step to go up and Ken was the one handling the suitcase, anyway. The ride took about 20 minutes and cost us only $4. If the Paris subway was as easy, we would have taken that instead of a taxi.

This time the train left on schedule at 12:30 a.m and arrived at Gare de Montparnasse on time at 4 p.m. After being on the train for 3 1/2 hours I needed to find a ladies room. In Paris as well as much of Europe, many of the toilettes are pay as you go. Usually there is a woman who will take your half Euro to let you in, but there are also automated toilettes in Paris which consist of a closed room with a steel door. Well the only one I could find was an automated one. Ken jumped into it before I had a chance to get my money out. Then I discovered that the only change I had were 2 Euro coins and the toilette only cost .30 Euros. So I thought since it was unisex, I would jump in after Ken got out rather than overpay. WARNING--Don't ever do this! After the door closed I noticed that water was coming out of the wall in back of the toilette, then it started spilling over the toilette and on to the floor. My shoes were getting wet which made me look for higher ground. I tried to open the door, but it would not open. The water kept rising. I banged on the door yelling to open it, but Ken was not outside. I had visions of headlines back home saying "Local Woman Drowns In Paris Toilette". The water reached a level of a half an inch at the highest corner of the room, thank goodness, then started to drain out. There must has been harmless chemicals in the water because I did not smell and my feet survived the ordeal. Anyway, I used the facilities, but I guess I screwed up the automated system and while on the commode, a young mother had put money in the system and opened the door. I could hear her put the money in, but she could not hear me telling her the place was occupied. Well, the door opened and she screamed with surprise something in French, then closed the door. I guess her putting money in the system is what got me out when I tried to open the door the second time. Of course, Ken was no where to be seen. When I did finally find him, I told him about my adventure, but of course, he found the engineering of the facility fascinating and just overlooked my ordeal.

After I dried off, we took a taxi back to the hotel. The weather was lovely, in the 7o's, the sun was shining and everyone was out for a walk. We arrived at our hotel, unpacked, then went down to the concierge to see about tickets to the Louvre for the next day. Getting tickets to the Lourve was easy, and the tickets purchased at the hotel allowed us to enter the Lourve through an entrance that did not have long lines. We also wanted to go to Follies Bergere since it was the subject of one of my favorite Manet paintings. The concierge advised against it and instead suggested the Lido, which is locate on the Champs-Élysées . Then he talked us into dinner there, too. We knew this would be expensive, but it turned out to be much more than we had planned. My advice, skip the dinner and save a fortune. We also wanted to visit the Musee D'Orsay, but they were out of tickets. However, we could purchase them at FNAC just across the street. FNAC is like a Barnes & Noble/Circuit City that sells theatre tickets also (one-stop entertainment center). We bought some for Wednesday.

Since my husband worked for the local transit authority, he wanted to see if we could go to the Lido by subway. So we did a dry run and found it quite easily. The concierge suggested a taxi, but we had already spend enough. Since the day was so lovely we walked around the area and ended up at little bistro on a side street just off the Champs-Élysées. This place had only four outside tables and another dozen inside. We had a lovely dinner outside watching the people, and since Ken spoke German, trying to figure out what the German women at the table next to us were saying. After dinner, we took the subway back to the hotel.

Day Four - The Wine Flows

2008-05-17T22:43:00.008-04:00

April 26. This time the bus wasn't scheduled to leave until 9 a.m. (so our "let them eat cake, I don't care if I'm late" person didn't hold us up). We drove to a different region. On the first day we visited chateaus on the left bank, this day we were to visit the right bank. Our first stop would be a lovely little chateau, Petite Village, which looked new, but was old and much more modest than the ones from the day before. This place had just recently completed a renovation making it into a very modern facility. The most unusual aspect of this chateau was that the fermenting tanks were made from cement instead of stainless steel or oak. The other difference was that the proprietress of the chateau, who was also our guide, was an American. This lady had been in France for the past 17 years and worked various positions in the wine industry over the years. This chateau is also owned by an insurance company rather than a family like all the others we visited during the two days. I'm sure that's why such an expensive/extensive renovation happened. This place is also used to entertain clients. The property is around 25 acres located on a plateau Pomerol which is the highest point in the Bordeaux region and produces 60,000 bottles a year. The chateau and more of this area has no classification, however, this is one of the best growing areas in the Bordeaux region and produces some of the highest quality wines in the area. The property adjoining this (the white house on the left) was only 4 acres, produced 200 bottles which sold for over 4,000 Euros each. Sounds like a great way to make a living. We tasted two wines and bought a half bottle which was enjoyed when we returned to Paris.

Back on the bus, we drove through several small villages until we finally reached the town of St Laurent d'Arce and Chateau L'Hurbe de Cablanc. This chateau was different from the others in that the property was leased, but had been leased by the same family since 1919. One of the owners, Marc, was our guide, but did not speak English. He had an interpreter, Lionel, who was also a PR person for the region. This property was not a business venture, but truly a way of life for a family. When the crop is bad, Marc has to find an outside job which he has done in the past. Marc lives in the oldest part of the house which was built in in the 16oo's and his sister lives in the other half built in the 1700s. Their grandfather began the winery after World War I. Marc and his sister run the vineyard together and had recently hired Lionel to help promote the business. Marc gave us a tour and what was different was that the aging took place in the stainless steel fermentation tanks. I think this was a matter of efficiency and economics. The wines produced were not of the quality of the ones we had previously tasted, but were very good everyday wines. After our tour, we tasted several wines and had pate, crackers and cheese in Marc's backyard. Then Marc's wife served us a four course lunch in the chateau. It was lovely with the French doors opened on both our left and right sides, a slight breeze passing through the room. The woman was amazing to be cooking a wonderful lunch for 20 strangers (even though I realize she was compensated for this). We again started with a poached salmon (must be the thing to serve these days), then another white fish with fresh vegetables, cheese course and dessert was tarte tartine, along with three different wines served during the lunch. I was fortunate enough to sit next to Marc and lucky that Lionel was at the same table. What was interesting was that Marc ate the opposite of how I was taught a Frenchman ate. He held his fork in his right hand and shoveled the food in. He was always the first to finish each course! But he was happy to pass more wine around to all of us. The wines were quite good and sold for less than 5 Euros each so we bought a couple bottles. Cheap wine with a year on the label, it must be good.

We said our goodbyes and boarded the bus for our last tour at Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte. This property has been around for centuries, but was bought by a successful French couple (almost celebrities), in 1990. They sold everything to acquire this place. What is wonderful about them is that they are very concerned about the environment and built the main public building and storage area out of recycled materials and do not use pesticides on their vines. All grapes are hand-picked. The property at 150 acres was the largest of all the places we visited, and they produce around 200,000 bottles a year. Also on the property is the Caudalie Spa which the owners' daughter runs. I forgot the name of our tour guide, but she was friendly and very French. We toured the fermentation area with oak tanks instead of stainless steel like most of the others. Then on to the cellars and a visit to the cooperage which is the on-site barrel maker. Most chateaus purchase their barrels, but this chateau decided that is was actually more economical to have a full time barrel maker. The barrel maker turns out two barrels a day, 600 barrels a year, so there is still a need to purchase some barrels. From there we went to the tasting room where one of the owners, Florence Cathiard, greeted us. She was quite charming and showed us the "James Bond" room which was a secret party room beneath the tasting room. The floor opened up and we were led downstairs to a very dark room with one back-lit wall with a blown-up picture of grapes. She explained that it wasn't quite finished yet, but it was a fun place to be. That concluded our tour.

We arrived back at Bordeaux around 6 p.m. Since our day consisted of mostly eating and drinking, that evening we had only salad for dinner--and calvados afterwards.

Day Three - Let the Tasting Begin

2008-05-17T20:06:00.019-04:00

April 25. After the hotel breakfast of croissants, yogurt, fruit, juice and coffee, we all met in the hotel lobby around 8:30 a.m. and were on the tour bus by 9 a.m. (you always have to wait for someone!). Since we did not rent a car while in Bordeaux, the bus allowed us the opportunity to see the suburbs and countryside outside of the city. Our tour guide was Wendy who was extremely knowledgeable of the wines and the area. Besides Wendy, we were greeted at each chateau by another guide who spoke English. We traveled for about 45 minutes until we reached our first stop shown above, Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste which is located in the Pauillac region. In my opinion, the first chateau was the best, but the others all had their charm. This chateau has been producing wine for over 160 years. It was also one of two chateaus we visited that had an official classification. The current owners purchased this property and business in 1978 and it showed that they had put a lot of time and money into this venture. Our guide was Simone who spoke perfect English and was very friendly and helpful. We toured the property grounds first, then entered the area where the grapes first are sent after the harvest where they are hand-picked. Once the grapes have been picked and selected, they are placed in large stainless steel tanks for a few months. This is where the fermenting takes place and when the winemaker is pleased with the results, the fermenting is stopped. From there, the grapes are transfered to French oak barrels and are kept in the barrels for eighteen to twenty months. Air can enter through the oak and too much air is not good. This process is closely monitored to make sure that the barrels are kept full at all times, so they are topped off with wine from the same vintage on a rotating basis. After about 9 months, the wine is filtered and transferred to new barrels and the aging process continues for at least another nine months to a year. Two and an half to three years after the harvest, the wine is finally bottled and stored for another three years before it is released to the public. At Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste Simone explained that the wine still was not quite ready for consumption, but would be in another couple years. It was recommended that Bordeaux wine needs to age at least eight to ten years and the longer the better. The chateau is located on approximately 90 acres and produces 300,000 bottles each year. After our tour of the chateau, the best part took place--the tasting. We were only given one wine to taste (they only made three types which were various grades of the same wine). At least we were served a sizable amount for the tasting. This is where Ken and I learned how to identify a young wine from a wine that is truly ready for drinking. The wine we had was 2003 which was a very unusual vintage and matured slightly sooner than usual. It was absolutely delicious. We spent about a half hour tasting and admiring the tasting room and the view outside.

Back on the bus, and off to Chateau Maucaillou in the Medoc region. The drive only took about 20 minutes to reach the next chateau. We were greeted by our guide, Nadine, whose English was not quite as good as Simone's, but we did understand her. This chateau also is on approximately 90 acres and produces 300,000 bottles each year but had a larger selection of wines. What we found out was the the French government controls how many bottles each chateau may produce. This chateau was quite old, but the buildings we were shown were much newer. Nadine showed us the facility and explained the wine making process which was similar to Grand-Puy-Lacoste, but as we found each chateau did something a little different than the others, be it the fermenting process, aging process, barrels, etc. This chateau also hand-picked their grapes. After our tour, we where treated to three different types of wines along with hors-d'oeuvres of French bread and pate. From there we were lead to a dining room where we had a wonderful five course lunch with a different wine for each course. We started with soup, then a poached salmon, the main course was a white fish, the cheese course with a selection of five different ones to choose from, then the dessert of creme brulee, coffee, and after we couldn't eat another bite, the chef brought out homemade chocolates--just perfect!

After our lovely lunch, we were off to the last stop of the day, Chateau Rauzan-Gassies, which was in the Margaux region. This chateau dates back to the 1700's and has 50 acres. The owner is now the daughter of the family that have held this since 1945 and we were fortunate to have her as our guide. This chateau had a higher classification than the first one we visited, but I found the wine a little better at the first. This chateau chose to machine pick their grapes, but there were later sorted by hand. The reason for the machine picking was that the grapes could be picked in an afternoon once it was determined that they were perfect for picking. Machine picking also eliminated the need to round up 40 people to do the picking and the threat of weather ruining the crop. The building was a combination of old and new and done very tastefully. The cellars and fermenting tanks were located in original buildings, but the tasting/boutique room was a new building. At the tasting we tried three different wines which included a Margaux. In the background of the picture is a chalkboard with wines and prices. At the top of the list was a 1966 wine being offered for 160 Euros. One woman from our group bought a bottle of that wine! Ken and I bought a bottle but it was closer to 25 Euros for a 2001 vintage. The bottle we bought was put in a box and tied with a ribbon with the chateau's name woven into it. We got the same packaging as the more expensive bottle! By now it was after 4 p.m and back to the bus for our ride back to the city. After all the tasting Ken and I, we didn't feel like we had been drinking a better part of the day. Good wines treat you well. We were back around 5:30, brought our purchases (2 bottles) back to the hotel, then went out for a long walk. We were still full from our lunch so Ken and I only had salads for dinner.

Day Two - Off to Bordeaux

2008-05-16T22:42:00.014-04:00

April 24. Since our train did not leave until 12:30 pm we did not set an alarm clock and woke up around 8 am. Showered, ate our supermarket breakfast and watched CNN, packed one suitcase for both of us and just took our time getting ready. We had booked this room for nine nights so it may sound extravagant keeping a hotel room in Paris for the three days we were gone, but it actually would have cost us more to stay one night, leave for three days and come back and check in for another five. It doesn't make sense, but anyway, it was cheaper this way.

Off to Gare de Montparnasse via le taxi. This was a way to see some of the city without wearing out our feet. The ride took about 15 minutes and we arrived in plenty of time for our train. This gave me time to get the cup of coffee I had been craving all morning.

Trains in France usually run very efficiently and on time. We boarded our train and sat at our assigned seats. The train we were on ran non-stop between Paris and Bordeaux at a speed of around 180 mph and the ride was supposed to take 3 1/2 hours. The seats were comfortable, but actually Amtrak is a little roomier. Anyway, take-off time came and went, but no movement. After about 15 minutes, an announcement was made in French that Ken and I did not understand. Another announcement was made later, people laughed and again, we had no idea what was causing the delay. After sitting there for an hour, the train finally left, and made up some time by arriving only 30 minutes late. A taxi took us to our hotel, and we later realized that he took a much longer route than he needed to take. So much for taking advantage of Americans. This is the outside of the Bordeaux train station in the picture just above.

We had not done much homework on Bordeaux, but it is a large city and quite old. Like Paris, it is easy to get around on foot or by public transportation. Cars are not allowed in the center of Bordeaux although the streetcars run through the streets. Bordeaux has money! All the high-end shops are there along with the quaint ones and numerous restaurants. It is a vacation destination for many French citizens. We were there for a wine tour of the area. We had booked this tour last fall and planned our vacation around this and a special dinner our last night in Paris.

We unpacked, got a map of the area at the hotel front desk and went off to investigate. We found a lovely chocolate shop, so of course we had to buy something there. Ken found a model train shop which was also high-end. He managed to refrain from buying anything even though he spent a while in the shop.

Our hotel was down the street on the left of the rounded building. It is the Hotel Continental which you can barely see in the picture at the top of this entry. Across the street is a performance center which is undergoing major renovations and was closed.

We had to be back at the hotel for an introduction to our wine tasting tour. This was conducted by Arblaster & Clark which is a British tour company. We found them on the internet and since they spoke the same language as Ken and I, we would get more out of this than a good buzz. Well, we messed up and arrived an hour late. We never rechecked our itinerary for the tour and relied on our travel weary brains instead. They were gracious, and two other people actually arrived after us. We did get to taste several of the local wines and were given a history and explanation of the wineries and classifications. There were 20 people in our group which was a great size. Ken and I were the only Americans with this group. After the introduction, we had dinner at a brasserie, I do remember having sausage and calvados afterwards.

My Vacation in France

2008-05-16T20:06:00.018-04:00

April 22-23 -- Up, up and away on Air France. Our flight from Boston was non-stop and took 6 1/2 hours. Uneventful, but that's the way we prefer to fly. We arrived around 6 a.m. (it was midnight back home) at CDG. If you have never been there, the place is very confusing. We just followed the crowd to Customs and then off to find our luggage. That took forever and we stood at the wrong claim area for the longest time until we figured out that maybe out luggage was somewhere else. No help was to be seen around baggage claim, but we kept looking until we found a desk at the opposite end of where we were. The young woman there spoke English and was very helpful. Once we got out luggage, we had a ride waiting for us and off to our hotel (and rush hour had begun). I swear that the first time we went to France the ride to the hotel was much more scenic, but maybe it was just the excitement of being there.

We arrived at our hotel, Concorde St Lazare, around 8:30 a.m. and did not expect to check in, but at least leave our luggage. The Reception Desk told us to check back about our room after noon. I used the hotel's main floor Dames WC to freshen up before I faced Paris. I should have taken a picture in there since it was the loveliest Ladies Room I used during my entire trip. Loads of dark green marble, ocre & rust tiles and gold fixtures.

We decided to just walk down Boulevard Haussman, window shop and get a cup of coffee. By the time we finished our coffee, some stores were starting to open up. We stumbled upon a store with a line of women waiting outside for it to open. But wait, this was Bouchara! What luck my first day. From the street floor, this store looked like a housegoods store which I would have only glanced at, but when I saw the name, I realized that fabrics were hiding in there somewhere. I got in line with the rest of the women (along with my husband Ken) rushing in once the doors were unlocked. Realizing that no fabrics were to be found on the ground floor, I found the staircase to the basement. There the treasures laid waiting to be rescued. All fabrics were on rolls neatly organized by fabric type, silk chiffon, silk tweed, linen, cotton, lace. But then reality hit--the prices required serious thought and no impulse buying. Most of the silks were going for 80 Euros/meter and the wools were 130 Euros/meter. At those prices I had to find the perfect fabric, but it was not be found there. The store did also have a loverly selection of buttons, trims and notions. I think if Ken wasn't with me, I may have looked harder and not have been so concerned about price.

After we left Bouchara, Galleries Lafayette had opened. I had been there before, but Ken had not, so I thought he should see the lovely rotunda. He decided he wanted to look at the men's clothes, and we spent more than an hour looking for him, but left empty handed. We walked around some more, had a quick lunch and headed back to the hotel to see about out room. We were told to return after 3 p.m, but could have our room upgraded for only an additional 50 Euros a night. I had booked the room on Expedia and got an unbelievable deal at less than half the normal rate of the cheapest room, but was not willing to pay more.

Off we went to do exploring. Since we would be taking the TGV from Gare de Montparnasse to Bordeaux the next day, we thought we would do a dry run to find the train station via the Metro. That was a good move since we found out that we would be dragging our luggage up & down and up & down stairs and through various tunnels underground had we decided to take that route. It would be worth the expense to take a taxi to the station and eliminate the hassle.

From Montparnasse we traveled back to the hotel and now our room was ready. But wait, another clerk was at the Reception Desk and told us that we had been upgraded to a better room at no extra cost (hmm--looks like we would have got this room whether we paid for the upgrade or not).

Anyway, we had a lovely corner room overlooking Rue St-Lazare, unpacked, washed up and off to explore more of Paris.

Of course I want to share our bathroom since it was all marble and even had a window with a view.

We took the Metro to Ile St. Louis where Notre Dame is located. We were both too tired to go inside Notre Dame since we had been awake for over 30 hours. We roamed the streets and walked back to the Right Bank, up Rue de Paix, back to Boulevard Haussman and discovered a supermarket where we could purchase the next morning's breakfast to bring back to our room. The hotel was charging 27 Euros/person for breakfast. I would rather spend that on fabric, thank you. Take out from the supermarket made more sense. We were not on a budget tour, but the dollar was 1.71 to the Euro that day. We brought our breakfast back to the room,changed clothes and went to supper at a cafe we had seen earlier in the day at St Augustin. Dinner was lovely, but I can't remember what I had. I did manage to have either calvados or armagnac after every dinner and brought a bottle of armagnac home. It won't last.

A Successful Failure?

2008-05-14T17:15:00.018-04:00

Life gets in the way of blogging. My Paris SWAP did not get completed, but I'm happy with what did get sewn. Those HP Everyday Pants were my downfall. I made three muslins and thought I had them fitting me satisfactorily enough, but after I had finally cut a couple pairs from the actually fabric in my plan, they were much, much too tight. I am thinking that since I made my third muslin in a fabric with lycra (just like a couple of the fabrics I was planning on sewing), I may have overfit the final muslin. That's the only excuse I can come up with. I was so tight on time, that I was sewing the actual pants three days before we were to leave. Had there not been a problem with the pants, I think I may have completed all four pairs since this pattern is easy to put together. One thing I did learn from this pattern is that I may have knock knees. After going through all my fitting books, I came to the conclusion why I was having so many problems fitting this pattern was that knock knees might be the issue. I made the adjustment needed for this deformity, and the muslin did fall much better. I just don't know if it's the pattern or me, since I have never had this issue before. Someday when I have time on my hands, I'll try to figure this out. In the meantime, I'm putting this pattern away for a while--things always get better when you abandon them for a period of time. What I did do for my trip was go to Lord & Taylor and pick up a couple pairs of pants in black and grey to go with the tops. Now those pairs fit great, I should just trace them off and make my life easier.

I did complete all my tops plus two more and the jacket was worn several times before we left. I did not take the purse since I prefer the travel purse I take on most trips. I have reviewed the tops and jacket on Pattern Review, but just did not get a chance to show them here, since it was the end of tax season, work was beyond hectic and sewing was my priority!

So here are pictures of my completed projects:

McCalls 4596. I sewed this in a lightweight wool charcoal twill and lined it in Ambiance. My biggest problem with this jacket was finding a 20" zipper that I liked. Since I could not find one that I really liked, I ended up using a black plastic zipper reasoning that it would just blend in and not show. I am happy with my decision. PR Review

Material Things Fearless T-Shirt #109. This t-shirt has become a TNT pattern for me. What really helped me was that I followed Marcy Tilton's "Where Did You Get That T-Shirt?" DVD. Marcy takes you through the fitting process showing how to fit yourself when no one else is around to help (which is usually the case). I followed her fitting instructions and am very pleased with the results. I made four versions of the shirt, but the last one I don't have a picture of since I sewed it up at the last minute. I used a rayon/cotton knit in a sage green and made the basic T with 3/4 length sleeves. The other tops were made from rayon lycra, or rayon/cotton lycra knits. PR Review

Textile Studio #1205 Marseilles Top. I made this top from a crinkled georgette I purchased from Emma One Sock. It is somewhat see-through, but I wear a black camisole under the top and it looks quite casually dressy (if there is such a term). I lowered the neckline opening 2" and bound the entire neckline rather than just turn it as given in the instructions. This top did see a couple evenings out during our trip. PR Review

Loes Hinse Bianca Sweater #5208. Another new TNT. I changed the neckline of this top into a v-neck since I thought it would look better with my choice of fabric. This is a knit from Casual Elegance I bought last summer. This top was incredibly easy and fast to sew. I need to go through my stash and see what else I can make with this pattern. I think I'll also try the pattern's original neckline next time. PR Review

For our trip, I also packed a black silk cardigan sweater, loads of scarves, a dressy pair of black flats for evening, my silk pjs and my perfume print robe. I wore my jacket, black pants, one of the t-shirts, my short black raincoat and my very comfortable Ecco shoes (which I lived in and never got tired feet) on the plane. We left Boston on April 22 and came back on May 2. My head is still in Paris.

Oh, I also have to thank my resident photographer, my son Kenny, for taking these pictures. He was very patient with me.

The bag from H _ _ _ !

2008-03-03T16:36:00.007-05:00

I had high hopes for this bag. I love the lines and size of it. This bag was perfect for me, just big enough, but not too big--loads of possibilities. I began sewing this last Saturday afternoon starting with the lining first, since I had forgotten to buy cording which was needed for the handles and piping around the bottom. The lining went together quite quickly, even with an inside zipper and outside zipper attached to the facings and lining. Then Sunday I ventured back to my machine and all the trouble started. I really did not want to drive to the nearest Joann's which might not even have the cording sizes I needed and would take at least an hour round trip. I improvised and raided the Boy Scout's rope bag and found nylon cords in the sizes I needed. Just snipped off a few inches and I was back in business. I made my piping for the bottom of the purse but had a terrible time trying to get the sides of the bag to attach close enough to the piping. I guess my biggest mistake was in my choice of interfacing. The pattern instructions recommend sew-in hair canvas interfacing, but I thought that fusible stiff Pellon would work just as well. After several tries even though I had marked the stitching lines, I decided that in order to get close enough to the piping, I would have to hand sew the bag. I had a couple rows of stitching on the bottom already, the stitching just needed to be closer to the piping. I must have spent an hour sewing that bottom together, innumerable pin pricks (I don't remember ever bleeding that much on a project) and numb fingers from forcing the needle through all the layers. Thankfully, all my pain and suffering ended in succe ss. Then came the hardest part attaching the facing and lining to the body of the bag. Since I so brilliantly chose a stripe that would show if I venture d out of line when trying to sew parallel to the stripe, lining everything up with all the bulk created by the interfacing was quite a venture. More pin pricks and bleeding on the project. This pattern made it hard to actually sew up to the sides of the bag since not enough room was given between the ends of the zipper and the sides of the bag. the facings could be a little wider too. I decided to treat the intersection of the two pieces like a notched collar and sewed just a stitch away from the intersection. This actually worked and allowed me to turn the bag to the right side with just a moderate amount of bulk. Then the pattern called for edge stitching around the top of the bag. This was not to be since the edge was too thick to fit under my machine's presser foot. I ended up hand tacking along the edge hiding my stitches in the stripes. If I kept up with this hand stitching through all that bulk, I would have developed callouses since the tips of a few fingers are becoming sensitive and hard.

Would I sew this again? Maybe. I still like the lines of this bag, but next time I will make modifications to the pattern. I need to rethink where the facing meets the sides of the bag and reshape the pattern piece. Also, I think if I use a less stiff interfacing on the facings and omit the piping on the bottom of the bag it will be much easier.

Oh la la, I have a Storyboard

2008-02-19T18:03:00.004-05:00

There is no joy in Beantown

2008-02-04T06:02:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the Giants for fighting and winning. They turned out to be very worthy opponents to the Pats. Cheer up Patriots fans, like the Red Sox fans always say "Wait till next year."

Up and Running!

2008-01-26T17:08:00.000-05:00

I have spent the past two weeks choosing fabric and patterns and editing like crazy for the Pattern Review Wardrobe contest. I now have a plan, I just need time to execute it. My travel wardrobe is based on neutrals with charcoal as my starting point, adding black, more grey, beige and ivory. Sounds boring, but by using fabrics with pattern, it breaks it up and adds interest. Besides, these colors should travel well.

Starting at the top left going clockwise: charcoal wool for pants and jacket, beige tropical wool for pants, black tropical wool for pants, grey microfiber for pants, black & beige stripe for handbag, ivory & black rayon stripe knit for long sleeve T-shirt, top, ivory rayon knit for short sleeve T-shirt top, crinkle silk georgette for evening top, grey rayon knit for top and variegated grey knit for sweater.

The patterns I chose for my wardrobe:

Textile Studio Marseilles Top #1205
McCalls #4596 jacket, short collarless zip front
The Classics, Material Things Fearless T #109
Loes Hinse Bianca Top #1508
Vogue #7036 handbag view A
Hot Patterns Plain & Simple Everyday Pants (same pattern for all 4 pairs)
Jalie top #2682

If there is time, I want to add more tops using the T-shirt (gold & black rayon knits) & Jalie top pattern (green rayon knit) plus adding the Loes Hinse Tunic Blouse #5202 (while rayon jacquard fabric) and Textile Studio Tank Top Shell #1203 (beige/taupe rayon jacquard). One more item I could add would be another sweater in the Loes Hinse Sweater Set #5201 cardigan using some wool double knit I also have in my stash.

Tonight I plan to trace off and work on a muslin for the McCalls jacket. I figure that will be the most challenging part of my plan. I already have enough interfacing and lining for this, but will need to get a separating zipper for the jacket. I have been looking for one, but have yet to find one that isn't too sporty. I want to be able to wear this jacket to work, not just on my trip. I will keep looking since I don't want to cut the jacket fabric until I have the actual zipper.

Last Sunday, my sewing friend, Ann B, came over and we both made duck tape dummies. I am pleased with the way mine came out and it is on my old dressform now (no pictures of this babe without clothes will ever get published). This will be a great help in fitting the jacket and tops. Ann helped me name her--Madame! My old dummy was named Goddess, but her day came and went. Madame fits a woman of a certain age.

My Second Attempt

2008-01-14T18:21:00.000-05:00

Pattern Review is having a Wardrobe (aka SWAP) Contest running from February 1 through April 30. I need/want new clothes for our trip to France at the end of April and I want to sew down some of my stash (Fabric Fast). So it makes sense to me to try to complete a SWAP thus accomplishing two goals at once. I will need to finish by April 20 since we are leaving only a few days after that.

This time I won't try for as many complicated (time consuming) garments, just a few knit tops, one pant pattern used three times and a TNT skirt. I think I know which tops I want to sew, but what I'm having problems with is deciding on a jacket. I plan to bring my black Dana Buchman raincoat, so I want something that I can wear under that. Layering is key. Once I can decide on a jacket, then the rest is easy to plan. Researching the April weather in France I found that during that time of year it is not as romantic as the movie or song . It is cold and raining--maybe that's why the tickets didn't cost as much as I thought they would.

This is torture!

2008-01-05T12:59:00.002-05:00

Well I've committed myself to a fabric, pattern & sewing book fast for 2008. I really need to do this since my inventory is starting to take over the house. I figure a SWAP uses about 25 yards of fabric. My current stash would provide 26 SWAPs. I can't dream up that many SWAPs. Two or three with layered stages added to each SWAP would be fun to plan. Work will be quite busy the rest of the month staying late dealing with year end stuff, so any SWAP planning will not happen for a few weeks.

Now I'm getting emails and snail mailings telling me about all the fabric sales. What prompted this entry was that I just received an email from Michael's Fabrics informing me that most of their Zegna's are 75% off and the rest of the inventory is 50% off. If I were not fasting, I would be ordering. Sawyer Brook is also having a great sale. I assume they are all getting ready to make room for their Spring inventory. Ha! I already have a Spring inventory--and Summer, Fall & Winter, too!

Also I got a lovely email from Marfy telling me that the Spring 2008 catalog is ready. Then I read Pattern Review and discover some great patterns I would love to sew. Arrggh!!

I just have to tell myself there will always be lovely fabrics and patterns out there in the future. And I also own loads of lovely fabrics which are begging to be sewn. Maybe I'll go shoe shopping.

Fabric Fast

2008-01-01T20:29:00.000-05:00

I have approximately 650 yards in my fabric stash. I realize there are others with stashes containing thousands of yards, but my stash is beginning to take up too much room. My youngest son is presently in Iraq as a Marine assigned to Central Command. While he is gone, I have moved my stash to his room. I need to sew some of this down and move it out before he returns, so that there is room for him.

I have cataloged all my fabrics so at least I know what I have. I have swatches in a binder filed by fiber (silk, cotton, linen, wool, synthetics, rayon and miscellaneous). Listed next to each fabric is the yardage (this is why I know how much I have) and width, any notes about the fabric and the year purchased. I then have my fabric stored in large banker's boxes according to color. Presently there are 15 boxes. Some are duplicates such as black, ivory and green - I tend to be attracted to certain colors. Much of this coordinates. When I planned my original swap last spring, I did not buy any new fabric since I had plenty to plan with. This stash needs to be set free--on my body, that is.

After realizing for the past several months that I own a large amount of fabric, and since I don't want to part with the majority of it, I need to sew this up before I purchase any more, at least during 2008. Therefore, when the PR Message Board popped up with the 2008 Fabric Fast--I knew that I needed to join this. I'm not sure I can stop buying--but I want to give this a good try--and I do believe I really can stick with it. I did lose 25 lbs last year, so why not at least that much in stash this year.

I also will refrain from buying any new patterns. Patterns really aren't a problem, but I find that many of my patterns look alike, even though they are from different designers/pattern companies. The same goes with books--no more sewing books. Besides many of them repeat each other in content--they just have different pictures and words.

The only thing I will not give up is my Burda WOF--it gives me inspiration and doesn't take up too much room either.

Buttons are another obsession, but they are neatly stored by color. But unless I don't already have the perfect button for a jacket, I will not purchase any new buttons. I have plenty great buttons for all the blouses I want to make.

I don't need interfacing since I have a decent size stash of fusibles, sew-in and silk organza. The same goes for linings, I have a fair amount of basic colors in rayon and silk. If I use up my interfacings and linings, I certainly have made a large dent in my fabric stash.

I also plan to go to France in April--so I cannot give up a chance to fabric shop in Paris. I am not a martyr. And, of course, I will allow myself to shop if I go to PR weekend.

So this year, I will not purchase any new fabric, patterns, buttons or books (except in Paris and PR NYC weekend). I have to stop thinking about what I want to make and just start sewing.

Happy Blog Year

2008-01-01T19:56:00.000-05:00

Recently, I was chastised by a sewing friend for not keeping up with my blog. Well, I agree, I need to make some effort towards this endeavor. I did complete two more items to last year's swap--finishing the pussycat blouse and the cosmo dress. I really should post reviews and pictures of these. I promise I'll try.

I have been sewing infrequently and completed two LH cardigan sweaters which I wore at PR Weekend in November. This pattern has become a TNT for me since these were my 4th and 5th times with this pattern and I have more planned in my head.

That's been my problem lately, more planning than execution. And part of the planning stage has been purchasing more fabric. My stash has grown by over 100 yards in the past year. I have become addicted to Emma One Sock, anxiously await my Sawyer Brook swatch mailings, Michael's Fabrics has me on their hit list, and the Fabric Place store closest to me closed--but had a mega sale that lasted two months before they finally did close. Then, of course, there was PR Weekend, but I restrained myself and spent more on buttons than fabric this time (everything fit in my suitcase, so I figure I was somewhat under control).

Ah, the Randolph Fabric Place sale--it started with a flyer giving me an extra 10% the already marked down store contents. I arrived in early October and stalked the aisles planning what to buy then and what to buy in the coming weeks when the markdowns became even greater. I haven't knitted in ten years, but I bought yarn (I may never see it this cheap again) and found some great linen. Next trip I bought silk, black, cream and print for lining, more yarn, bamboo fabric and McCall's patterns at $1 each. Now I was contemplating purchasing the furniture--namely pattern cabinets. I did come to my senses since I have no place to put them and my system of banker's boxes works quite well for pattern storage. The store is only 5 minutes off the route home from work, so I found myself gravitating towards the store at least once a week in November. I bought a couple upholstery sample books at $1 each thinking they would make great purses, then found some great bamboo voile (which I had been seriously thinking about for quite a while), printed cotton which would make great pj's for me, and more silk in brown charmuese and 3 ply. I showed up the next to last day before they closed, 80% of the merchandise was gone and I realized I was looking for things that just weren't there. I left empty-handed but with lots of memories of a fabric store I spent a lot of time in over the past few years. Fabric Place is still around--just not as close as I would like. So now I'll have to drive 30-45 minutes depending upon which store I want to visit. I also now have a yarn stash!

Channeling Audrey

2007-07-12T20:12:00.001-04:00

I love to sew. Most of my sewing is related to work clothes since I love tailoring, but that usually requires a muslin, lots of fitting and lots of sewing both machine and hand. Sometimes I just want to sew something fun, which means no muslin & fitting. Since PR changed the rules on their contest and an accessory is now one required item, rather than count one of my jackets as the accessory, I preferred to sew a purse. Handbags are fun. They allow for creativity (even though mine leans towards a more classic, subdued approach), imagination, and use of scraps and stuff already on hand. I don't sew these very often, but really get into it when I do. They also provide much quicker gratification. I'm sure these reasons are some of Deepika's since she is the queen of purse-making.

I had scraps left over from my jackets, lots from the cotton one and a little from the black linen jacket. I also bought several yards of ribbon last winter from an on-line ribbon site--I could not stop picking out different ribbons, but managed to stop when I hit $45. Mind you I rarely use ribbon outside of gift-wrapping. But once again, I was inspired and let loose. Well the black and cream ribbon in my stash was so perfect with the scraps from these two jackets, I just had to make a purse. I still needed a lining, but thought why not a black check lining--then off to my least favorite fabric source, Joann's. Sure enough they had a great match. I also needed a pattern and did not want to spend a lot and there wasn't any sale that day, so Butterick was a good choice. I found B4474 which was just the right size of 10" x 8"--not too big. Then the search for handles--but the only ones they had that worked were bamboo, so my choices were limited. A couple weeks later I was at Fabric Place and they had totally different handles to choose from. I found the perfect little black ones. I'll just have to save the bamboo for another purse.

Last Saturday was a great time to start this fun project. I cut out the pattern and fabric, fused two layers of interfacing to the body of the purse even though the instructions only required one layer and off I went. I'm also glad I fused two layers, because it really gave the bag more structure. In fact I could have used a stiffer interfacing, but I used what I had on hand, since I did not want to drive 20 minutes to Joann's or Fabric Place just for a piece of interfacing. The pattern was well drafted, but the instructions were so-so. They really did not skip any steps, but I question if the bags on the envelope were made using the same instructions. The two major complaints about the instructions were that, first, the lining bottom should be sewn with a very wide opening to allow for the cardboard to pass through after the lining is attached to the bag. The illustration showed a small opening which would not work if you don't want to bend the cardboard. I used two layers of cardboard for more stability. Then the other problem was that after the lining was attached and turned right-side out with the bag, you are expected to understitch all around the top of the bag. This is a nearly impossible feat. I found top-stitching around the top to be a much easier way to go. Besides, the instructions had already had you top-stitch the loops for the handles and the tab for the snap. It just made sense to top-stitch again. I had recently purchased some sew-on magnetic purse snaps from Sawyer Brook which worked perfectly and found a button in the button stash which was a close match to the handles, just the right touch to finish this bag. Here's my PR review on this pattern.

Now I'm on the lookout for great fabric to go with those bamboo handles.

Burda 8433

2007-07-10T20:52:00.000-04:00

This jacket has been cut out since Memorial Day, but I did not have a chance to work on it until late June. The muslin for this was made prior to Memorial Day and fitting this was fairly easy. Anyway, I posted my review on Pattern Review. This jacket did not give me any problems and I was very happy with the drafting, especially the sleeves. I made some changes to this pattern leaving off the cuffs and just finishing the slits at the wrist. Once again I decided to underline this jacket with silk organza. This stuff is really easy to work with and provided just enough body so that the linen of this jacket doesn't go limp. I finished off the seams with rayon seam binding which turned out much easier to do that I had originally thought. Yeah!--I'll definitely use this technique again. Well I have already worn this to work since it fits in quite well with what I already own. Anyway, a black jacket usually works most of the time. No inside pictures since the details just won't show up. Maybe I'll make one up in a lighter fabric and post that.

One thing that held me up was that my sister-in-law, Nadine, came to visit with her boyfriend on their way to Ireland. They live in Phoenix, so Boston is a definite vacation destination for them since it is so different than the desert. They stayed with us for four days during which time we visited the annual crafts fair in Cohasset (where the very well-to-do live by the ocean), ate out most nights and spent Sunday along the Coastal Wine Trail. My husband, Ken, and I first followed this last year and just loved it. The wineries on this trail are very much like the one in the Finger Lakes, New York.

We only had an hour drive from our house to the first stop, Westport River Winery. We arrived a hour before they opened so we went off looking for a place to have a quick lunch. We found a place on Main Street, which was more of a rural road than the name suggested and found a place named someone or other's dry good and kitchen. There were two young women (the cooks) in the rear of this gift shop who served wonderful homemade sandwiches, soups and all types of dessert goodies. Of course, we all had dessert. When we arrived back at the winery, they were open and we decided to take a tour which took an hour. At the end of the tour, we did our tasting outside overlooking the vineyards. This winery specialized in champagne since it grows so well in this part of the country. The tour brought back all hat Ken and I had learned when we visited Moet & Chandon back in 2001. Anyway, it was a perfect day for tasting, around 75 and sunny.

Then off to Sakonnet Vineyard which was about a 20 minute drive down windy back roads. This place is also in a lovely setting, but I guess we were so absorbed in the tasting we forgot to take pictures. Sakonnet has been around for a while. Ken and I remember buying their wine back home before we had kids (and they are now both Marines, so it was quite a while ago). Anyway, it is worth the stop.

Our last stop was Greenvale Vineyards. They have one of the prettiest barns I have ever seen. All tasting takes place in the barn. This was the most low-key, less crowded place of the three we visited. When I retire, I want to work here pouring wine. What a life!!

Needlesstosay, we did also buy. We have a wine rack in our cellar which holds 126 bottles and it was getting a little bare, especially lacking in white wines. So this little adventure helped us stock up until we go off to the Finger Lakes for our annual wine gathering trip.

After Greenvale, we headed for Newport, RI. Nadine and Vic had never been there, even though I have been trying to talk them into visiting this place. Once there, they loved it. We spent our entire time on the waterfront looking at the small shops and taking in the views. We had dinner at a restaurant on the water, and of course, had wine with our meal. Sounds like our day was a big drunk, but trust me, it really wasn't. Everything was spread out over the entire 10 hour period and we really did not drink that much at each winery since they give out only a couple sips of each wine. Anyway, at least Ken and I have learned after a taste to dump our wine into the vessel provided at each winery. Did you see Sideways? Remember towards the end of the movie when Miles (Paul G) was at a winery tasting room and drank out of a pitcher--that was the wine leftovers everyone dumped. Mind you, we only drink from wine glasses.

Thoughts on SWAP changes

2007-06-11T22:04:00.000-04:00

While I totally understand why Deepika changed the rules of this SWAP, I feel that the person who initiated the changes did more damage to herself and her company than she did to the PR SWAP (and I will continue to call it a SWAP, not a Wardrobe Contest). First of all this did not start until after the yearly SWAP was over, voting was completed and the winners were declared. The PR SWAP was initiated by PR members, not Deepika. D was just following the wishes of her members with no intent of stepping on anyone's toes. There was a momentum started because of the earlier SWAP on Stitcher's Guild--people who were not part of the first one, like myself, decided it would be fun to finally get one going now that we were inspired by the earlier one. For goodness sakes, the PR SWAP was nearly six weeks old and half over when this bomb was dropped--at least she should have discussed this with Deepika before blasting the contest on her site. Deepika is very easy to deal with and I am sure that she would have been happy to reach some compromise without everything being made so public by the offender. The majority of us are participating in the PR SWAP to get some coordinating clothes, the prizes are nice, but they are not the inspiration. Had there not been any prizes, I wonder if there would have been such a stink. Competition with the other contest was not the intent--just having fun sewing. I will continue to support Deepika. She has a great site which I have been following since day one.

Besides, the idea of a coordinating wardrobe did not begin with a SWAP. It has been around ever since I can remember. In the early 1980's it was published in Working Wardrobe by Janet Wallach when she introduced the concept of wardrobe capsules where all pieces worked together. I love this book because it is such an inspiration even if it is a little dated with the big shoulder jackets.

Slow Progress

2007-06-11T21:19:00.000-04:00

Of course, life never goes according to plan. My long weekend was not as progressive as I had wanted. I ended up spending my Sunday helping my husband (Mr. Train Brain) putting up a hung ceiling over his model railroad layout in the basement. It was only fair since he put one in over my sewing area in the basement over 10 years ago. I owed it to him. I did get both jackets fitted, cut out, and basted the underlining to them.

I spent the past two weeks working on the first jacket Simplicity 4328. I have a tendency to make projects more complicated then they need to be. This jacket pattern is pretty straight-forward, is lined and has no buttons. I chose not to line it and had originally planned to extend the front and include buttons, but this was not to be. My muslin allowed for the buttons, but evidently, I had not thought this out enough and used a looser weave fabric for my muslin than I used for the finished jacket. Once I started sewing the jacket, I discovered that it fit tighter than the muslin. Eliminating the buttons gave me the room I needed. This did sew together quite well. I underlined the body and sleeves in silk organza, covered small shoulder pads and finished the seams with rayon seam tape. I interfaced the facings with fusible light-weight interfacing that I purchased on-line for The Sewing Workshop. I really like this interfacing and plan to buy more. It is woven and I think it would work well in tailored shirts and lighter jackets. Saturday night I managed to write a review on PR . sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/readreview.pl?readreview=1&reviewnum=21202

Overall I am very happy with this jacket and it fits in quite well with the whole SWAP.

I am now progressing on the next jacket which is black linen, also underlined with bound seams. This week is pretty full during the evenings and my sister-in-law is coming to town with her boyfriend for the weekend, so there will be more partying than sewing. Maybe I should post pictures of us having a good time. Yeah!

It's the Long Weekend!!

2007-05-25T18:47:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I'll have time to really get going on this SWAP. Tonight I plan to sew up the two jacket muslins I have cut out. If time permits, I will fit them, if not then that will be done tomorrow afternoon and hopefully, I will also be able to cut them out in the fashion fabric, too. I don't plan to line my two jackets, but rather I want to underline them in silk organza to cut down on the wrinkling, but still keep them cool. I also want to finish the seams with rayon seam tape which will give the insides a more finished look.

Ideas in my head are to topstitch the living daylights out of both of them, possibly eliminate the pocket flaps and the cuffs on the black linen jacket on the left (Burda 8483), just lengthen the sleeves a bit and finish them off with a slit. On the light mustard cotton jacket on the right (Simplicity 4328) I plan to have 3/4 sleeves and have added to the front of the jacket to allow me to button it. I have buttons already picked out for the Simplicity jacket since I had originally planned to make this last summer. I will have to go through my button stash to see what I have for the Burda black linen--since I have a whole box of various black buttons, I'm sure there is something that will call out to me.

Hopefully, I will be able to get these two out of the way by the end of the weekend. I need to complete these first in order to see how they work with the other pieces, especially the necklines and sleeves of the other garments.

Finally

2007-05-19T15:00:00.000-04:00

I have been working on trying to download my storyboard from MSWord which was created on an IMac. Since I'm not very computer literate, this has been totally done through trial and error. Today I have finally had success. I have spent more time on this endeavor than I have on my SWAP. I would have my first jacket done by now if I knew what I was doing with these downloads.

But so much for my problems--on with the SWAP sewing. I have traced off the two jacket patterns, the two HP blouses and the MT blouse. Hopefully, I will at least fit one of the jackets this weekend. To top fitting problems off, I have been following Weight Watchers since January and am down 18 lbs to date-hoping to lose at least another 20 by year end. Because I carry most of my weight in my hips, I have started with the tops since these will be least affected by any weight loss and my shoulder fit should not be impacted at all. Nothing I am sewing is tight fitting anyway. I will work on the bottoms towards the end of this project.

Got No Time

2007-05-12T21:05:00.000-04:00

This past week work was crazy as usual, but at least I haven't been putting in extra hours. Jeff is here, so we have been enjoying his company when he is not out with his friends. Right now at 9 o'clock at night, he is out fishing with his friends. It appears that there is a dock at Hough's Neck jutting out into the ocean. He plans to be there all night on the dock attempting to fish and socializing. If I can ever figure out how to upload old photos, I'll post pictures of him with the big fish he caught when he was 5 and 11.

Last night we had our Cub Scout finale banquet. This was the first time in the past 10 years that I was not part of the planning--I'm loving it--it's about time others started taking over the planning. Maybe they got sick of my agenda, which is fine with me--I'm burnt out anyway. The Cubs had a great time and I wasn't stuck in the kitchen this year.

In spite of going out to dinner three times this week, plus spaghetti with the Cubs, I lost 1 lb when I weighed in at Weight Watchers this week. Positive thinking and being good the rest of the week sure helped. Ken reached his 10% this week, too.

Oh, the SWAP, well I certainly have been thinking about it. I spent too much time trying to convert a file to jpeg so I can upload it onto my photo site. The problem is we have a Apple computer, which complicates things, since jpeg is not an option in the files I used to create my storyboard. If I had spent the time working on a jacket instead of the storyboard, I would have one piece done for the SWAP. I did wash and prepare my fabrics and they came out great--thankfully. Hopefully, next week this will get off the ground--out of the planning stage and into action.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, I'm giving my brain a rest. We are off to New Hampshire to visit my mother and the rest of the clan. I'm in charge of appetizers. Jeff suggested shrimp cocktail. Yes!! Yes!! Expensive, but easy--I need easy these days. I also picked up smoked salmon spread (this is a culinary orgasm, I tell you) and will make a grapes with cheese & crackers plate.

2007 PR SWAP

2007-05-06T11:22:00.000-04:00

I'm up and running with the SWAP. First here are my fabric choices:

I spent last Sunday night figuring this out. What fun this was to go through my stash figuring combinations, editing and planning for future sewing. I still haven't figured out how to set up a storyboard, but here are my choices for my SWAP :

Jackets:
Simplicity 4328 view D (light mustard cotton pique)
Burda 8483 view B (black linen)

Tops:
Material Things Fearless Shirt #106 view C (2 shirts, 1 white, 1 light mustard)
Hotpatterns Deco Vibes Tango Blouses (green bubble print)
Hotpatterns Miss Moneypenny Pussycat Blouse (black, tan, white print)

Dress:
Hotpatterns.com Deco Vibe Cosmopolitan Dress (black, white, green, beige print)

Bottoms:
Burda WOF 4/2007 143 skirt (green linen)
LaFred Iris Skirt view B (black silk)
JSM Pant 1 (2 pants) (1 black silk, 1 tan cotton stretch)

I am really psyched about this SWAP. These ideas have been kicking around in my head for awhile--this contest has made me put my thoughts into action. I still have fabrics which coordinate with this SWAP, but first I have to concentrate on getting through this. I'll save them for next spring, since by the time this SWAP ends, I'll be ready to start thinking about a fall SWAP.

My Baby is Home

2007-05-05T15:29:00.000-04:00

My youngest son, Jeff, is home on leave until May 13. He graduated from job school (Public Affairs) at Ft. Meade Defense Information School on April 25 and will begin his assignment at Camp Pendelton on May 15. We love having him here, and it may well be over a year before he is back. He has made us proud of his accomplishments in his short life.

Jeff was always an easy kid, but that is his nature, not so much his parents' influence. We hardly ever had to punish him while growing up. His politics are different from his parents'--so we were not totally responsible for his thinking. Little did we know what an athlete he would be--he started crawling at 5 months old (how do you tell a baby that he is too young to crawl). When his older brother, Kenny, became a Cub Scout Tiger, Jeff was only 3, but loved being at our den meetings. He was the best behaved boy there. When it was his turn to be a Tiger Cub, he asked me to be his den leader. Since his dad was now the den leader for Kenny's den, this was doable. Jeff was always very interested in the outdoors and camping. So after crossing over from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, Jeff rose through the ranks and became a Boy Scout. He has camped in eight states and Canada, climbed most of the Presidential Range in New Hampshire and backpacked for two weeks in New Mexico at Philmont Reservation (Boy Scout Mecca). I feel because of Scouts, he learned a great deal about leadership and also reliance upon oneself. Jeff is an Eagle Scout and thankfully, became one at 16 sparing his parents and troop the agony of trying to beat the deadline of an 18th birthday to complete all the requirements.

He also is a terrific runner. When he entered 8th grade, he changed schools. The gym teacher encouraged him to join the track team. He knew he could run and was fairly fast, so he gave it a try. He never placed while in 8th grade, but he always finished somewhere in the middle. In high school he was fortunate to have a couple great coaches his first two years. With each year came improvement in his running. He would practice during the summers getting up by 7:30 in the mornings to run rather than sleep until noon like many of his friends. People all over the city would tell me they saw him running in different locations. By Senior year in high school he was always placing in the top three in all his meets. Perseverance, strategy, lots of practice and setting goals for himself are what got him there. Evidently, his teammates liked him, too, and made him captain of cross-country, winter track and spring track that year.

Jeff looked at colleges thinking he would major in English. The Marines won out over college. He said if he went to college, from his observations of the guys he knows, all he would learn is how to goof off and drink. Profound thoughts for a 17 yr old. There will be time for college later and he would be earning credits anyway at Public Affairs school . Our older son, Kenny, is a Marine and plans to go to college when he gets out this coming December. But it appears that for now Kenny is at least getting the experience of living with a group of guys without going to college.

Jeff graduated with honors from high school and while waiting to go to boot camp at Parris Island, he got up almost every morning to run to keep up his skills. He also worked out at the gym most days, so by the time he entered the Marines, he had a perfect PT score of 300. He managed to maintain that score all through Boot Camp and graduated with honors, was an Expert in rifle and earned the Leatherneck Award for the highest physical fitness score in the class of 619 graduates. He then went to Combat School for a month, then on to Public Affairs School at Ft. Meade. Jeff did quite well and really enjoyed his time there. While at school he was tested for physical fitness and scored a perfect 300 just prior to graduation and was again honored for his physical accomplishment. A week later he was promoted to Lance Corporal. Not bad for someone who is still 18 years old.

At this moment he is off with his friends, but it is still good to know he is in this house for now. We will miss him when he is gone. He will be at Camp Pendelton until early December, then he will be deployed to Iraq. I just pray that the situation there drastically improves during the next several months.

This will be a learning experience

2007-05-04T20:35:00.000-04:00

I need to become more computer literate. I want to communicate my ideas with more than print, I want to use pictures and links.

Sewing is my passion. I entered the Pattern SWAP contest and plan to develop a storyboard and track my progress over the next three months. But also I want to use this as a vehicle to express all my thoughts.