First off was a pair of Burda 6613 shorts out of a suit weight natural linen. I was in a hurry because I wanted to take these with me to San Diego for a Granddaughter's graduation from UCSD and I knew the weather would be perfect for dress up shorts. Since I've used Burda patterns forever, I didn't make a muslin, just made them using my measurements.
DUH,.. I didn't think about the fact I've been doing Aqua Aerobics for months and my body has tightened up a lot. Put them on the morning of the graduation, and they slid down to my hips making me look like those youths with the falling off pants. SIGH. Took them off and tried again. First pair:
I did a "wearable muslin" from a wild and crazy patterned indigo and white stretch cotton. I did carefully match the pattern on the pockets, but went stupid and didn't even think about the side seams until they were completed. Oh, well. The wild pattern is just carried a bit farther.
These had multiple alterations, finally I think taking in a total of 6" around the waist and dropping the back crotch seam by a fairly large amount IMO. But now they fit well and are in regular rotation. Then because I didn't have a sleeveless top to go with them, I did a navy tank. I did use my TNT tank pattern and removed about 2" from each side by the time I was done altering it.I very much like the fit now.
Once the navy tank was done, I quickly made two more pair of the shorts out of linen from JoAnne Fabrics. Not great quality, but they'll do for the rest of the summer.
In and around the clothing, my brother moved here from Southern California. He's disabled, and I've done A LOT of running around getting things set up for him, getting him a home, furniture, etc. And as a Welcome Home gift, I made him a throw pillow.
He's a fisherman, and I saw a similar pillow on a website and knew he'd love it. So I sketched out the fish, pulled a piece of canvas from stash, a colorful remnant with shells on it in "sea" colors, and made the pillow with the fish on front. I don't do applique as a rule, and anyone who is talented at applique would probably not be impressed, but my brother loved it, and has it in a place of honor in "his chair."
This week I'm making him another fish pillow, (he would rather fish than almost anything) for his birthday on Saturday. He's 18 months younger than I am, and we've always been close. With the advent of his move here, we talk and see each other most days. He's going to be thrilled. The last one, he just kept saying, "No one has ever made me a pillow before." Now he can't say that, but I know he's going to love the new one. Luckily I have enough of the canvas remnant for a semi-matching pillow.
Once the pillow is done, I'm moving forward with a few more tanks. I have the fabrics washed and ready to go, and perhaps I'll make a couple of pair of denim shorts. They'll be quite useful for days when I'm working around the house. My sleeveless shirt TNT pattern somehow got way too big, and I've started altering the ones I have that I'd like to keep moving forward. A few have been donated, but some are worth keeping because I love the fabrics.
So all in all, a relatively productive few months. I had thought to start making fall and winter items in August, but with the temps still in the 90s, I can't bring myself to start sewing heavier fabrics. I'd like to get back to knitting too, but the thought of sweaters and hats makes me start to sweat. So I'll wait a few weeks before I start thinking about such items.
Hope you are all enjoying your summer and sewing a lot! More later,
